Here Comes the Flood
by SilversGrey
Summary: When life breaks down…when we break down…there’s no science. No hard and fast rules. We just have to feel our way through. And to a surgeon there’s nothing worse, and there’s nothing better. Season 5 but things aren't the same, Mark/Lexie.
1. Chapter 1

**Begins in season five but things aren't really the same as in the show. Susan Grey is still alive and Thatcher isn't a drunk, Owen and Arizona are already working in the hospital and Izzie never had cancer.**

**************

**Go far, far away to Plastics**

"Dr. Grey welcome to Seattle Grace" Richard warmly welcomed Lexie with a smiling face and a hand held out.

"Thank you Dr. Webber" Lexie answered back excitedly with an even bigger smile as she shook his hand.

She still couldn't believe that she…_Lexie Grey,_ would be completing her internship at Seattle Grace, one of the top teaching hospitals in the country.

"If you'd like to wait in here I can have Meredith paged" Richard suggested before quickly dashing out of his office.

Lexie sighed; she had been trying really hard not to think about Meredith since she had received her acceptance into the program. While her father had never kept Meredith a secret, spending quality family time really hadn't been something they did together.

Lexie could remember Susan constantly encouraging Thatcher to reach out to Meredith, to try and make amends for everything that had gone wrong. But she could also remember the constant fights between her parents because Ellis Grey wouldn't hear of it…Lexie almost got the impression that Ellis Grey had purposely gone out of her way to make sure that Meredith hated their father.

Lexie wasn't sure if the Chief had prepared Meredith for this little bombshell, but she prayed like hell that he had because she didn't want to be in the firing line. She had enough problems on her own plate without having to deal with a Meredith Grey freak out.

Suddenly Lexie was pulled back by the sound of voices at the door, the moment that Richard opened it Meredith froze as she looked back at her sister. She didn't need to be a psychic to know who she was, but it also helped that the Chief had explained everything first.

"Hi" Lexie whispered as she gave Meredith a subtle wave hello.

Meredith nervously swallowed the sudden knot in her throat and made her way into the office.

"I'll leave you two to it then" Richard explained nervously before leaving the room in search of something else to do.

Meredith and Lexie both stood in the middle of the room in an awkward silence, Meredith couldn't help but remember that this was exactly like the first time she had met Lexie.

"So you work here now" Meredith declared, trying to make it sound like she was happy to have her there but in reality she wasn't.

"Starting today I am" Lexie answered awkwardly, she really hated confrontations.

"So you're one of the new Interns" Meredith realised as she eyed Lexie up and down, she hoped that the Chief had assigned her to another Resident.

"I umm, well actually…yes" Lexie managed to finally say after fumbling through her words.

Meredith nodded her head, "Ok then…well I'm sure that the Chief will assign you to a Resident soon" Meredith informed her. She tried to keep this as professional as possible, to treat Lexie like she was just another Intern.

Lexie sighed with disappointment, she didn't know what to expect but at least an acknowledgement would have been nice. "The uh, the Chief told me that I was being assigned to um a Dr. Yang" Lexie answered quickly but nervously.

"Cristina's working with Dr. Hunt today so she should be in the pit" Meredith answered while being distracted by the sound of her beeping pager. "I have to go" Meredith announced before quickly walking out the door without even a goodbye.

**************

"Dr. Yang" Lexie called out hesitantly with a faint smile on her face.

Cristina eyed Lexie suspiciously, "who are you and why are you even talking to me?" Cristina asked dryly as turned back to her charts in front of her.

"I'm um, I'm Dr. Lexie Grey and I'm your new Intern" Lexie announced with a smile on her face and held her hand out to Cristina.

"Oh god" Cristina groaned as she took in Lexie's happy and smiley appearance, she really didn't need another idiot Intern on her hands.

Cristina sighed as she turned to Lexie, "I have five rules. Memorize them. Rule number one, don't bother sucking up. I already hate you, that's not gonna change. Rule number two, you answer every page at a run. Rule number three; you run labs, write orders, and work every second night until you drop dead. And you _don't_ complain. Rule number four, the dying patient better not be dead when I get there, because not only will you have killed someone you will have woken me for no good reason. Are we clear?" Cristina asked with a dull look on her face.

"That was four rules. You said five" Lexie pointed out sheepishly as she saw the annoyed look on Cristina's face.

"Rule number _five_, when I move, you move" Cristina answered with a mocking smile on her face before turning back to her charts.

Lexie stood there silently taking in the scenery of the pit as she waited for Cristina to move or to give her something to do, she was starting to think that having Dr. Yang as a Resident was the best thing in the world.

"What the hell are you doing?" Cristina asked in disbelief after having tried to ignore Lexie for the last three minutes.

"Uhh, well you…you said that I move when you move, and you…well you didn't assign me anything so I'm…I'm waiting" Lexie finally managed to mutter.

Cristina sighed shaking her head as she realised that she actually did have another idiot on her hands, "go far, far away" Cristina ordered as she waved her hand in the air, "I'm banishing you to Plastics, go and bother Dr. Sloan".

"Right, Dr. Sloan" Lexie repeated before quickly walking away and heading down a corridor without any idea where the hell she could find _Dr. Sloan_.

**************

Lexie hesitated as she stepped off the elevator; she was terrified of her first meeting with any of the Attendings. Lexie had read various journal articles about Mark Sloan's work, and from what she had gathered Dr. Sloan sounded like he could be quite intimidating and quite scary.

It had taken asking three scrub nurses and two other Attendings to be directed in at least the right vicinity of where she could find Dr. Sloan, but even then she was still just as lost.

"Dr. Grey are you alright?" the Chief called out with a concerned look on his face, he had seen her wondering up and down the hall looking lost.

Lexie jumped at the sudden sound of somebody's voice, quickly turning on her heel she was greeted with the Chief's face. "Chief I um, my Resident banished me to Plastics…but I can't find Dr. Sloan" Lexie explained in complete embarrassment, convinced that she had probably just made herself look like a complete idiot.

"You're looking for Dr. Sloan, follow me" Richard ordered and began walking down the corridor that Lexie had already searched.

"Uh Chief I've already…" Lexie began to explain when Richard came to a complete stop and held a finger up to signal Lexie to be quiet.

Lexie instantly shut up and hesitantly looked at the door and frowned, it didn't have Dr. Sloan's name on it but rather _Dr. Derek Shepherd._

With a shake of his head Richard swung the door open and marched into Derek's office with Lexie following right behind, "Sloan why the hell do you insist on hiding in Shepherd's office…you're confusing the damn Interns" Richard barked with his arms crossed.

Mark couldn't help but smirk at the Chief's out cry with his head still down, "that's the whole idea, this way they can't find me…besides they're all idiots" Mark answered casually like it was no big deal.

Lexie cleared her throat as she looked back and forth between the Chief and the top of Mark's head. Lexie knew that she should have been offended by Mark's comment about the Interns but instead she was struggling not to smile.

Mark looked up at the sound of another voice and looked Lexie up and down, unconsciously licking his lips. Mark couldn't explain it but for whatever reason he couldn't look away…he was hooked, his eyes took in every little feature of her face. Staring into her big brown eyes Mark could actually feel himself loosing all coherent thought and speech.

Lexie smiled faintly at Mark as she stared back at him, the word handsome didn't even begin to justify how amazing the man really looked. But there was something about him…something that just instantly made Lexie feel like she could actually breathe properly, and that was something that she hadn't felt in a long time.

"Dr. Sloan I'd like you to meet Dr. Grey, Seattle Grace's newest Intern…and _your_ Intern for the day" Richard announced, completely oblivious to the way that Mark and Lexie were still staring at each other.

Mark quickly jumped up from behind Derek's desk and walked around to stand in front of Lexie, "Hi and welcome to Seattle Grace" Mark greeted Lexie warmly with a full blown smile.

The fact that Mark was being friendly to an Intern let alone shaking their hand should have been a clear sign to Richard that something was going on with Mark, but again it went unnoticed. "Sloan how about you try and not make _all _the Interns cry today" Richard suggested before leaving the two of them alone in Derek's office.

"Can't make any promises" Mark called out to Richard's retreating back with a smirk on his face.

"So you get some twisted pleasure out of torturing Interns?" Lexie asked with a smile, she could see that Mark Sloan wasn't the type of guy who went by the rules…but she could also see that there was more to him.

"Welcome to Plastics Dr. Grey, you're about to find out just how much _pleasure _I get out of Interns" Mark whispered in to Lexie's ear before walking out of the room.

Lexie closed her eyes as she felt a shiver run down her spine at the sensation of Mark's breath against her skin, suddenly Derek's office felt rather small to her. But as she opened her eyes and looked around the room Lexie quickly ran out the door in search of Mark.

"You need to keep up little Grey" Mark explained to Lexie as they stood waiting for the elevator.

"What did you just call me?" Lexie asked with a subtle hint of amusement on her face.

"Little Grey…you're Meredith's half-sister, she's big Grey, you're little Grey. It's how I can tell you two apart " Mark answered while trying not to look at her, for some twisted reason Mark had this sudden need of approval to call her that.

Mark shook his head in disbelief, she was an intern _and _Meredith Grey's sister…besides Mark Sloan didn't need anyone's approval do what he liked, especially an _Intern's. _

"I guess it's better than being called an idiot, moron, or pathetic" Lexie answered before quickly stepping onto the elevator.

"I wouldn't get ahead of yourself little Grey, there's still plenty of time for you to prove that you're pathetic…just try not to kill any of my patients" Mark teased.

"Good to know that you have such _high _expectations of me" Lexie joked back with a small giggle.

Mark couldn't help but laugh; there was something about her smile that he just found so infectious. "Well you are off to a better start than all the other Interns" Mark pointed out; wanting to make sure she knew the he considered her to be different to all the other Interns.

"I Haven't killed anyone yet" Lexie softly repeated with a seductive smile as she inched closer towards Mark, she had to control her sudden urge to reach out and run her fingers up against Mark's arm.

"There's that…" Mark answered softly with a shaky voice, unable to finish his sentence as Lexie moved closer towards him.

Mark shook his head and immediately took a step back; he could feel his heart beating faster. _This is ridiculous _Mark told himself, he may have slept with a lot of women but Mark had _one _rule he always followed…never sleep with an Intern. But for some unexplainable reason Mark had the strongest urge to throw that rule out the window.

Lexie had to try hard not show the twinge of disappointment she felt when Mark backed away from her, _well you just proved that you're an idiot_ Lexie told herself. She shook her head wondering what on earth she was thinking, wondering why she thought that a guy like him would even remotely consider the possibility of a girl like her.

Mark could see that Lexie was kicking herself, and for some stupid reason it was really important to him that things weren't weird between them. "So why are you on my services today exactly" Mark asked in the hopes of changing the subject and making Lexie feel a little bit more comfortable around him.

Lexie let out a soft laugh as she shook her head, "my Resident, Dr. Yang, decided to banish me to Plastics for the day" Lexie explained with a cheeky smile.

"Why am I not surprised that Yang's idea of punishing her Interns is to send them to me" Mark answered with a shake of his head, but he was smiling in such a way that it almost made his eyes light up.

"Then I guess it's lucky for you that I don't consider Plastics a punishment".

"You don't?" Mark asked in surprise, nobody in their right mind would _want _to spend their entire day working side by side with Mark…well at least that's what he had thought.

"I've read about your work, and what you do is incredible…Plastics isn't just about tummy tucks and boob jobs. There's more to it, you just have to be willing to scratch beneath the surface to see what's really going on the inside" Lexie explained just as the elevator doors opened.

Lexie didn't wait for Mark's answer and quickly stepped off the elevator.

Mark froze as he thought about what she had said; no one had ever talked about his speciality like that to him before. He had become accustomed to all the ridicule and the way people treated Plastics like it wasn't really a speciality, but to have someone not only tell him that his work was impressive let alone the fact that it mattered meant something to him.

"Dr. Sloan, are you coming?" Lexie asked with a sweet smile as she waited for Mark to step off of the elevator. She had no idea of the images that suddenly began flooding his mind after hearing those words.

Mark shook his head; "I'm coming little Grey" Mark called out softly as he followed Lexie; s_he's going to be trouble_ Mark warned himself.

**************

**Reviews welcomed :-) **


	2. Turning Over a New Leaf

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**Turning a New Leaf**

Lexie sighed in relief as she sat down on a bar stool at Joe's.

While working with Mark Sloan was probably one of the most amazing experiences of her life it was also the most tiring.

Mark Sloan demanded perfection and Lexie couldn't really blame him for it, after all it was the reason that he was considered one of the best plastic surgeons in the country.

His patients demanded nothing but perfection from Mark so it wasn't a big stretch for him to demand the same of the Interns.

"Hey Joe can I get a scotch" Mark asked, suddenly appearing out of nowhere and sitting down next to Lexie.

Lexie immediately sat up straight and plastered a wide smile on her face; "hey" she greeted Mark cheerfully.

"Hey" Mark answered back awkwardly, after what had happened in the elevator earlier this morning Mark had been trying really hard to keep his distance.

He knew that this was insane but there was just something about Lexie, something that drew him towards her…something that made all sense and logic fly out the window.

And usually that would scare Mark, it would make him more hesitant about that particular person but with Lexie it was different, with Lexie he _wanted _to lose control.

"How's Mr. Soony?" Lexie asked in the hopes of keeping the conversation neutral, she had been kicking herself all day for making what Mark must have thought of as a blatant pass at him.

"Recovering nicely, he should be able to go home day after tomorrow" Mark answered before taking a sip of his scotch.

"That's good" Lexie told Mark while nodding her head, she struggled to think of something else to say…to think of anything that would keep Mark from walking away.

Mark could see the little internal battle Lexie had going on in her head because she was clearly displaying every emotion on her face, not even trying to hide it.

"Favourite colour" Mark suddenly blurted out without even thinking, he had no idea why he had asked the question but for some reason he actually wanted to hear Lexie's answer.

"Excuse me?" Lexie asked while trying to keep a smile off of her face as she watched Mark squirm in his seat.

"I asked what your favourite colour is" Mark repeated the question, trying to make it look like she was annoying him.

"Why on god's earth would you want to know what my favourite colour is?" Lexie asked with a seductive smile on her face.

Mark felt a shiver run down his spine as he concentrated on Lexie's smile, "fine if you don't want to answer then you don't have to…I was only trying to be nice, you know I hear most people are into the whole small talk" Mark answered while trying to keep up the annoyed façade.

"I thought that you don't do small talk, well at least with Interns that is" Lexie argued with a smirk on her face.

"Just forget it" Mark grunted while grabbing his glass of scotch and walking away from Lexie, now he really was annoyed with the Intern.

He had tried to a make a genuine attempt at getting to know Lexie and all she could do was throw the ideas that the Seattle Grace rumour mill had about him back in Mark's face.

Mark shook his head in disbelief as he took a sip of his scotch, he couldn't believe what an idiot he had been…to think that he could actually make a genuine attempt at getting to know a woman without trying to sleep with her was insane.

"Blue" Lexie declared as she neared the edge of the both that Mark had moved to, "my favourite colour is blue" Lexie answered while looking into Mark's crystal blue eyes. Not mentioning the fact that up until Lexie had met him her favourite colour had always been green.

"Your turn" Lexie announced as she slid into the booth and sat opposite Mark, clutching tightly onto her glass.

There was a part of her that was afraid she had read far too much into Mark's attempt at striking up a conversation, and that in reality he was just trying to be nice.

Mark couldn't help but smile as he shook his head, "I ask a question and you answer…I guess it's only fair that you get to ask one back" Mark answered. Hoping it would reassure Lexie that he didn't have problem with her asking questions.

"So once again, favourite colour" Lexie asked with a wide grin on her face, relaxing into her seat and trying to enjoy the conversation.

"Grey" Mark teased, wanting to see what Lexie would argue.

Lexie shook her head while giggling at Mark's answer, "grey isn't a colour" Lexie argued before finishing off her drink.

"Is to" Mark protested.

"Is not"

"Is to"

"Is not" Lexie repeated as they argued back and forth like little kids, neither of them could stop smiling at one another.

"Can I get you two a refill" Joe asked appearing out of nowhere.

Lexie and Mark both reluctantly pulled away from each other's gaze to look over at Joe, who suddenly felt like he had walked in on something private.

"We'll both have another" Mark answered Joe, pointing to both their empty glasses.

"Joe" Lexie called out hesitantly but with a devious smile on her face, "I was wondering if you could settle something for us" Lexie asked with a sweet smile on her face.

"Sure thing Dr. Grey, just don't ask me anything medical…just because I supply most of Seattle Grace with alcohol doesn't mean I actually understand what comes out of their mouths" Joe teased.

Joe had met Lexie not even twenty minutes ago and instantly he decided that he liked the woman.

Lexie laughed at Joe's joke and shook her head in reassurance, "actually I was hoping that you could explain to _Dr. Sloan _here that grey isn't an actual colour" Lexie explained.

"Grey isn't a colour" Joe sided with Lexie and then made his way back to the bar.

Lexie clapped her hands and threw them up in the air in victory, "I win so you have to pick a new colour" Lexie declared with a huge grin on her face.

"I'm not picking a new colour" Mark answered with a mocking glare, he would be damned if he was going to let an _Intern _tell him what to do.

"Stop acting so childish and pick a new colour" Lexie ordered with a teasing smile on her face, she could see that Mark was definitely the kind of man who hates to lose.

Mark licked his bottom lip as he looked around the bar for some random colour to call out just to keep Lexie happy, which Mark knew was insane because he was supposed to be the last person in the world who should be worrying about Interns and their level of happiness.

Mark turned his attention back to Lexie and he found himself being drawn back into her big brown doey eyes.

"Brown" Mark suddenly heard himself call out, still unable to pull himself away from Lexie's eyes.

Lexie shifted in her seat uncomfortably, it wasn't the fact that Mark was stairing at her that was uncomfortable but more so the affect that he had on her.

As Mark continued to stare at Lexie she felt like for the first time in her entire life somebody was actually seeing the real Lexie Grey. It was like Mark could see past all the smiles, all the hair and makeup…almost as if Mark could see what really made Lexie tick, what really inspired her to be the person she was.

"Favourite sports team" Lexie asked softly, not really wanting to pull Mark away from his sudden fascination with her eyes but wanting the conversation to continue.

"New York Yankees" Mark answered with a grin on his face, that was probably one of the easiest questions he could ever be asked.

Lexie cringed as she heard Mark's answer, over the years she had developed an interest for sports.

Lexie's disappointment in Mark's choice of teams didn't go unnoticed, "what now you're going to share your opinion about the Yankees" Mark joked.

"Hey you have every right to follow which ever team you choose…even if you could do better" Lexie muttered under her breath with a playful grin.

Mark was the kind of bloke who usually got defensive about his baseball, especially whenever someone took a shot at the Yankees.

"You have a better team?" Mark asked with a playful look of disapproval on his face.

"Boston Red Sox" Lexie declared with a huge grin on her face.

Mark shook his head while trying to keep a look of surprise off his face; he hadn't met too many women who were actually into the whole sports stuff. He could still remember the hours of whining and nagging Addison and Naomi would do whenever he, Derek and Sam made them watch a game.

"You watch baseball?" Mark asked hesitantly, not wanting to insult Lexie or scare her off.

Mark decided to let go of that last little thought, he didn't want to spend too much time on wondering why it was so important to him that Lexie liked spending time with him.

"I know what a shocker" Lexie answered Mark's question sarcastically while trying not to roll her eyes, "when you grow up in a house where your father has _two _daughter and _no_ son…there's this silent understanding that the eldest daughter plays the substitute" Lexie explained with a fond smile on her face.

"So you and your dad were close?" Mark asked with his voice completely devoid of any emotion, the subject of parents had become a mute point to him.

Lexie began nodding her head just as Joe arrived to deliver their drinks, "here we go one single malt scotch and vodka on ice" Joe announced before leaving the table.

"We still are actually, I think…I think that my father got this idea in his head that by doing all the stuff he never got to do with Meredith with me that it'll somehow make up for all the mistakes he made with Meredith" Lexie explained with a sigh.

Mark could see that the topic of Meredith Grey wasn't really something that Lexie wanted to talk about, and really he couldn't blame her. He could see that for some absurd reason Lexie was carrying around the guilt of what their father had done to Meredith.

"You can't blame yourself for your parents mistakes" Mark counselled Lexie with a faint smile; he had no idea why he was brining this up.

"Sounds like you're talking from experience" Lexie pointed out hesitantly, she didn't want Mark to feel as though she was pushing him to talk about it.

"Lets just say that if my folks had a choice when it came to me I wouldn't be sitting here talking to you right now" Mark answered vaguely.

"That bad huh" Lexie asked before taking a sip of her drink.

Mark shook his head, "no…well at least not if you consider being constantly ignored by your own parents, or constantly told that you were never good enough as a bad thing" Mark answered sarcastically.

The topic of his parents wasn't something that Mark liked discussing; usually he was quite good at avoiding the conversation all together. But for some unexplainable reason Mark _wanted _to talk about this with Lexie, he felt like he could trust her.

"Well it couldn't have been all that bad…I mean you ended up being one of the most prominent Plastic surgeons in the country. So they must have done _something_ right" Lexie argued, not really believing that parents could be that selfish.

Mark couldn't help but smile at Lexie's innocence, and that just highlighted another reason why the two of them were so completely opposite. While Lexie was a wide eyed and innocent woman Mark had become this dark and twisty man who always saw the bad before the good.

"That's all thanks to Derek's mom, Mrs. Carolyn Shepherd" Mark declared with a proud grin on his face, "I guess you could say there was one good thing to come out of my parents' in ability to actually be parents…I became best friends with Derek while Mr and Mrs. Shepherd became the parents that I really needed" Mark answered solemnly as he remembered the man that had left too soon.

Without even thinking Lexie stretched her arm across the table and squeezed Mark's hand with a sympathetic smile on her face, "then to Mr. and Mrs. Shepherd" Lexie toasted as she held her glass up to Mark.

While trying to hide a smile from his face Mark raised his own glass before taking a sip of his drink, the burning sensation that coursed down his throat was a welcoming change in feeling.

"The last time I spoke to either of my parents was when I told them that I had been accepted in to Coloumbia pre-med" Mark explained to Lexie with a hint of bitterness in his voice. "You should have seen their faces; it was almost as if I had told them that I was going to dedicate my life to doing charity work".

"They didn't want you to become a doctor" Lexie asked, this was something that Lexie could definitely relate to.

Mark scoffed at Lexie stating the obvious, "my mother looked at me and asked me why on earth I would want to spend the rest of my life trying to help strangers whose life choices obviously made them beyond help" Mark explained with a sarcastic smile before taking another sip of his scotch.

"When I received my acceptance letter from Harvard my dad told me that if even so much as thought about going he'd never speak to me again" Lexie offered, hoping that it would comfort Mark.

"How long did the silent treatment go on for?" Mark asked in a sigh of relief, it was good to know that there were others out there whose parents didn't agree with their choices.

"I hadn't spoken to my dad until my mom got sick, it's sort of the whole reason I actually moved back to Seattle" Lexie answered, trying to shift the focus off of Mark and back on to her because she could see how uncomfortable Mark was with being the centre of a conversation.

"You could have done your Residency at Mass General" Mark pointed out with a smile, grateful for Lexie's ability to read him so well…despite having only spent 15 hours with him. This was just another thing that Mark was choosing to ignore when it came to Lexie Grey.

Lexie began nodding her head, "yeah…but when it really came down to it I wanted to be close by to my mom until I knew for sure that she was ok. And my dad seemed to have come around by the time I came home…not talking for three years will do that to a person apparently".

"Why was your dad so against you and medicine?" Mark asked curiously, he wasn't just being polite.

He wouldn't admit it out loud but this was probably the most enjoyable conversation Mark had had with somebody in a really long time, at least somebody who wasn't Derek or Callie.

Lexie was hesitant about answering that question because despite knowing that Mark and Derek were best friends she wasn't sure just how much Derek and filled him on Meredith's past.

"I'm sensing that this has something to do with Big Grey's mom" Mark answered Lexie's unspoken question about how much he really knew. "I mean the only thing that Derek's ever told me was that her folks split when she was little and that she hadn't seen your dad ever since…well until your sister was brought into the hospital" Mark explained.

"Let's just say that my dad was afraid I was going to be lured into the world of scrubs and scalpels, that I'd be to busy to be able to concentrate on anything else outside of a hospital" Lexie answered with a faint smile.

"Meaning houses, marriage and kids" Mark listed off, to which Lexie simply nodded her head, "well let me that it's sometimes overrated" Mark added.

"Talking from experience?" Lexie asked hesitantly.

Mark froze as he mentally kicked himself, wondering why in the hell he'd make a comment which would effectively lead straight into a conversation about his affair with Addison.

Addison Montgomery was the last thing that Mark wanted to be talking to Lexie about right now; he knew that with the rate at which the hospital rumour mill worked at it was only a matter of time until Lexie found out.

But Mark wanted to stall having that conversation with her as long as possible, because he knew that the minute Lexie found out that Mark had slept with his best friends wife she'd be out the door.

Mark was trying to overlook it, trying to ignore it but Mark really wanted to delay Lexie's departure as long as possible.

"Tell me something…something that nobody would know just from looking at you" Mark ordered with a smile, hoping to steer the conversation away from Addison.

"Well" Lexie sighed with a smile; it wasn't something that she usually liked to advertise because people then began to look at her differently. As though she had an unfair advantage over them, "I have a photographic memory" Lexie declared.

Mark nodded his head while smiling at Lexie, he wasn't usually an easy man to impress but Mark was funny in that sort of way. Things that most people would find impressive Mark usually found boring and mundane…it was the unusual, the extraordinary that Mark found impressive, the stuff that most people couldn't do.

"So…a photographic memory, huh" Mark asked then suddenly paused with a smirk on his face. "Periodic table, go" Mark ordered.

Lexie rolled her eyes while smiling at Mark, "Hydrogen, helium, lithium, beryllium, boron, carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, fluorine, neon, sodium, magnesium, aluminium, silicon, phosphorous, sulphur…I can keep going" Lexie explained while the next element sat on the tip of her tongue.

Mark took one look at Lexie and the two of them both began to genuinely laugh quite loudly, it wasn't just Lexie's ability to list off the periodic table that had them laughing…it was also the fact that both Lexie and Mark were genuinely having a good time.

In reality they were two people who were completely different from each, two people who should have nothing in common but they were having fun as they just continued to sit there and talk about anything and everything that suddenly popped into one of their heads.

The were both still too busy laughing for either one of them to notice Derek and Callie walk into the bar as they headed over towards Arizona.

**************

Just as Derek and Callie managed to weave their way through people and over to Arizona Callie's attention was drawn to a loud boisterous laugh that she heard coming from the back of the room.

Callie froze as she stood there looking over her shoulder while watching Mark sway and backwards and forwards in his seat as he continued to laugh.

"Am I seeing things" Callie asked as she slapped Derek across the arm to get his attention and pointed over to Mark and Lexie.

Derek froze with a glass of scotch, which Joe had already brought to him, in mid air. He had to blink twice because Derek seriously believed that he was seeing things as well.

Arizona turned around to look at what Derek and Callie were both stunned by; she furrowed her brow in confusion.

"What's so weird about Mark laughing?" Arizona asked; she and Callie had only officially been going out for the last month so Arizona hadn't really had the chance to get to know Callie's best friend.

Callie shook her head in disbelief before turning her attention back to her girlfriend, "that's the point; Mark Sloan _does not_ laugh…let alone laugh with an Intern".

Arizona raised an eyebrow at Callie's statement, "come on everyone laughs at something…and from where I'm sitting it clearly looks to me like Mark's laughing" Arizona pointed out while looking over at Mark and Lexie.

Callie then turned her attention to Joe, "Joe you're a bartender…"

"Geez I never would have guess that if it wasn't for you Dr. Torres" Joe teased with a playful grin.

Callie waved her hand in the air, quickly dismissing Joe's comment. "I mean you're a bartender and bartenders have eyes and ears _everywhere_" Callie explained while pointing around the room. "So be a sweetheart and tell me what the hell is going on between those two" Callie ordered while pointing over shoulder towards Mark and Lexie.

Joe turned his head to the side so he could get a better look at Mark and Lexie who had now gone back to talking, "how the hell should I know?" Joes asked with a confused look on his face.

Callie threw her hands up in the air in disbelief, "you're a bartender…you're _supposed _to know these things".

Joe shook his head with a smile, "hey my only job requirement is to make sure that people around here have enough liquor in their glass to keep them happy. What they're 'up to' is their own business" Joe explained before quickly turning to another customer.

"You know Calliope if I didn't know any better I'd actually think that you're jealous" Arizona teased with a sweet smile on her face.

Derek couldn't help but laugh at Arizona's comment before turning his attention back to Mark and Lexie. He had known the man for over twenty years, Mark was his best friend…and in the entire time Derek had known him he had never seen Mark that relaxed and that genuinely comfortable with a woman, it surprised him.

"I'm not jealous" Callie quickly reassured Arizona, "I'm just worried that the Intern doesn't know what she's really getting herself into" Callie lied before taking a huge gulp of her drink.

Callie didn't want Arizona and Derek to know why she was really worried because she was afraid that they'd find it funny and laugh. But Callie had known that Mark was trying to change, ever since the publishing of the _Shepherd method_ Mark had been determined to prove that he was good for more than just sex.

Callie was worried that Lexie had heard about Mark's reputation through idol gossip and was now trying to test the theory out. That worried Callie because she had never seen Mark genuinely comfortable and genuinely happy as he did right at that very moment talking to Lexie.

She prayed like hell that Lexie wasn't just trying to take Mark for a ride.

Callie and Derek both turned their attention back over to Mark and Lexie only to find that they were gone. The only sign that either one of them had been there were the empty glasses and a twenty dollar bill sitting on the table.

**************

"See small talk isn't too bad" Lexie spoke up in a sing-song voice with a huge smile on her face, while slowly walking over to Mark.

Mark shook his head while returning Lexie's smile, he refused to admit that he had genuinely had fun talking to an Intern.

"Oh what, afraid that I'm going ruin your reputation of being the big bad wolf" Lexie teased with a pout on her face, "well your secret is safe with me" Lexie reassured Mark with an evil grin on her face.

Mark refused to dignify her mocking with an answer, so instead the two stood outside of Joe's in a comfortable silence. Neither of them really wanted to leave but then neither of them really felt like catching hyperthermia.

Just as Lexie opened her mouth to say something a huge gust of wind blew right past them, blowing Lexie's loos hair all over her face.

Mark couldn't help but laugh as he reached out to tuck a piece of hair behind Lexie's ear, his fingers were freezing cold but just the feeling of Lexie's skin against his own suddenly made his entire body go warm.

The feeling on Mark's skin against her own seemed to make Lexie lose all sense of logic, and without even thinking Lexie pressed her body as close to his as she could before crashing her lips against Mark's. Sweeping her tongue through his mouth, Lexie let out a small moan as her entire body tingled at the sensation of it all.

Lexie had no doubt in her mind that Mark was definitely a man who knew what he was doing.

Quickly being caught off guard Mark allowed himself to get swept up in it all for a few seconds, the feeling of Lexie's lips against his…the need to have more. But unfortunately for Mark he quickly came crashing back down to earth and pushed Lexie away.

As he took a deep breath to try and calm down Mark subtly glanced over at Lexie and could see the look of rejection on her face.

Mark sighed as he scrubbed his face in annoyance, it wasn't that he didn't find her attractive…she was more than just attractive as far as Mark was concerned. It was the fact that he was slowly beginning to fall into his old pattern with Lexie and he refused to do that.

Mark was trying to change, he was trying to prove to others and to himself that he was more than just a man whore, and if he let himself lose control…if he actually let himself do what his entire body was screaming for him to do then he knew that he'd only be proving everybody else right.

Lexie was different and Mark knew that, he wasn't sure why but what Mark did know was that he didn't want Lexie to be just another notch on his belt.

"I, I'm um…I'm sorry" Lexie stuttered in complete embarrassment while trying really hard not to cry. She began berating herself for kissing Mark and more importantly for reading way too much into Mark's kindness.

Lexie wondered why in the hell she thought that a man like Mark would ever find someone like her attractive.

"I'm just gonna go" Lexie whispered while trying to avoid eye contact with Mark and turned on her heel to leave.

"Lexie" Mark called out before quickly reaching to grab her by the arm, he needed the chance to explain to her that she hadn't done anything wrong….that it wasn't her but rather him.

Mark opened his mouth to speak but Lexie quickly cut him off, "you don't have to say anything Dr. Sloan" Lexie reassured him while quickly taking on a professional attitude towards Mark.

Mark had to try and stop himself from cringing as Lexie used his professional title; Mark had never hated hearing the words Dr. Sloan as much as he did right then.

"Lex…"

Lexie shook her head as she pulled her arm out of Mark's grasp, "Dr. Sloan please" Lexie pleaded with him. She already felt like an idiot and she didn't need him to make it any worse, "I'd really appreciate it if we could just forget that any of this ever happened" Lexie suggested before quickly walking away.

"Agh" Mark grunted just as Lexie walked around the corner, kicking the air in frustration Mark ran his hands through his hair. This was not how things were supposed to go, Lexie was supposed to give him a chance to explain why he had pulled back.

But now as far as Lexie was concerned Mark had convinced himself that she probably thought he wasn't interested in her, that she had just made an idiot out of herself.

Only the thing was that Mark was interested in Lexie, probably more than he really should have been.

"Are you trying to catch pneumonia?" Derek asked while rubbing his hands together to try and keep them warm.

Mark jumped at the sudden sound of his best friend's voice, the last thing he needed was for Derek to lecture him about staying away from Lexie.

"Where's Lexie?" Derek asked, looking up and down the footpath for any sign of her.

"Why are you asking me?" Mark asked; trying to pretend like he would be the last person on earth to know the whereabouts of an Intern.

"Uh because I saw the two of you" Derek answered with a duh look on his face, wondering why Mark was acting so defensively.

"You saw us?" Mark asked in a squeaky voice, tonight really wasn't his night.

"Yeah me and Callie saw the two of you back inside the bar" Derek explained with a confused look on his face.

"Oh yeah uh inside the bar" Mark agreed like he had suddenly just remembered.

Derek shook his head, he wasn't sure _why _Mark was acting funny but he did know that it had been too long of a day to try and decipher Mark's weird behaviour.

"Well you can freeze your butt off all you like, me on the other hand…I'm going inside where it's nice and warm" Derek announced before heading back towards the bar.

"Wait that's it?" Mark asked with a sceptical look on his face.

"Is what it?" Derek asked.

Mark sighed in defeat, Derek had managed to con Mark into bringing the subject up himself. "You're not going to tell me to stay away from Lexie; you're not going to tell me that she's too fragile to handle my usual moves?" Mark asked with a bitter look on his face.

"Well Meredith did have some concerns…"

"Well that's not new" Mark jumped in, he knew that Meredith had been keeping a close eye on Lexie and him the whole day from the minute she had seen them whispering about something.

Derek rolled his eyes while choosing to ignore Mark's comment, "you're a grown man Mark. You might be my best friend but that doesn't mean I get to tell you what you can and can't do" Derek explained with a faint smile.

Derek opened the door to the bar and was about to enter when he turned his attention back to Mark, "Mark all I ask is that you start thinking with _other _parts of your anatomy" Derek asked before walking back into the bar.

Mark groaned in frustration, "yeah and look where that got me" Mark yelled out to the closed door of Joe's bar.

**************

**Sorry this took so long but I've been suffering a bad case of writer's block with **_**all **_**of my stories. So thanks for reading and please review, it would be greatly appreciated :)**


	3. Who's Dr Montgomery

**************

**Who's Dr. Montgomery?**

Making her way down the corridors of Seattle Grace Lexie couldn't help but walk around with a small proud smile on her face. It had been nearly three days since her humiliating attempting at making a move on Mark Sloan, and it had yet to become public knowledge…which was a big feat when considering the hospital that they worked in.

Lexie had gone out of her way to make sure that she steered clear of Mark Sloan, the last thing she needed was a reminder of her public humiliation. Not to mention the 'little talk' that Mark would probably want to have with her.

The talk where he'd sit her down and tell her that she was a really sweet girl but that nothing could ever happen because he was her boss…which was actually code for _you're just not my type_.

Suddenly with a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach Lexie realised just what _type_ of woman attracted the attention of Mark Sloan.

In that split second Lexie could basically narrow it down three things…unbelievably tall, with a bright smile and red hair.

Lexie ran across the hallway and hid around the corner as she watched Mark, talk to a woman Lexie had never seen before, while leaning against the nurses' desk.

She felt like one of those animals that they always showed on the discovery channel stalking their prey, the only difference here was that Lexie knew she'd never actually make the catch.

At least not when Mark Sloan had a far better offer coming from the unbelievable beautiful red head, actually Lexie was pretty sure that beautiful couldn't even _begin_ to describe the woman who was currently the object of Mark Sloan's affections.

Lexie suddenly felt like an even bigger idiot than she did the night in front of Joe's, of course Mark would turn someone like Lexie down when he could have someone like that she thought to herself. As far as Lexie was concerned it was like trying to convince a man who only handled Ferrari's to drive a four door sedan.

Lexie continued to watch as the red head laughed at something that Mark had said before leaning into him and kissing him softly on the cheek. Lexie had this irrational wave of jealous flow through her entire body…she wanted nothing more than to march right over to her and pull the woman down on to the floor by her long read hair and drag her as far away from Mark as possible.

As Mark leant against the nurses' station and tilted his head closer towards the red head, and whispered something in her ear with a sly smile on his face, all that doubt started to rear its ugly head again.

That night, after Joe's, Lexie had immediately gone home and berated herself for probably a god knows how long on how stupid she had been to think that someone like Mark Sloan would be interested in her.

And after Lexie had felt that she had sufficiently given herself an ear fool, over making an idiot out of herself, Lexie stood in the bathroom as she studied her own reflection in the mirror.

She then began to question _why _Mark hadn't found her appealing, wondering why it was that she wasn't good enough…or why he thought that the nurses were even more tolerable than her.

The self-loathing and self-doubt were the two biggest reasons why Lexie had been avoiding Mark like the plague; it had nothing to do with the fear of losing control if she was left alone with him again Lexie kept telling herself.

But even that argument was slowly beginning to wear itself thin in Lexie's mind, at first she had been relieved that Mark hadn't tried to approach her the next day so that they could talk about it.

But as the days went on that relief slowly manifested itself into bitterness towards Mark, she slowly began to get angry at him for not caring….for not taking the time to talk to her, for trying to pretend like nothing happened because that meant Lexie really was _forgettable._

Suddenly Lexie was pulled out of her own thoughts by the sound of Mark laughing loudly; Lexie couldn't help but smile fondly as she remembered being the one to make him laugh not so long ago.

Finally Mark and the red head were interrupted by Derek who quickly began to talk to her about something; her laid back attitude towards Mark was quickly replaced with a serious look on her face. It didn't take long before Derek took a few steps back from the two of them and waited for the beautiful woman to follow him.

She turned to Mark and with a soft smile on her face she gently gave Mark's hand a squeeze and kissed him on the cheek again before quickly following Derek down the hall.

Mark, completely oblivious to Lexie's observations, walked in the opposite direction back towards his office. Lexie jumped at the sound of her pager going off, telling her that she was late getting back to the ER.

Sighing in defeat Lexie clutched the x-rays to her chest tighter as she began her decent towards the services of Dr. Hunt.

Now all those unanswered questions in the back of Lexie's mind had finally been answered, Lexie finally understood _why _Mark Sloan had refused her advances…but more importantly she had finally discovered what type of woman Mark Sloan liked.

Her findings confirmed two things that Lexie had already suspected, that was of course that she was a) nowhere near Mark Sloan's type and b) she didn't have a hope in hell where he was concerned.

**************

"Did you hear that Dr. Addison Montgomery's back in town?" Graziella asked in excitement, suddenly appearing out of nowhere at the nurses' station.

"Who" Lexie asked with her eyes still glued to the chart that was lying in front of her, Lexie had discovered that keeping herself busy helped to keep the thoughts of Mark away.

"Dr. Montgomery" Intern Graziella answered in exasperation, as if _everyone _should know who Dr. Montgomery is.

"Uh new girl here" Lexie announced as she pointed down to the top of her head while still hunched over the desk. "I haven't had the chance to meet _everyone _who works inside the hospital" Lexie explained.

"Right" Graziella sighed, quickly remembering that she was dealing with a newbie and that all of the hospital gossip had yet to reach Lexie's ears. Stepping up on her tiptoes Graziella leant over the desk to reduce the chances of anyone over hearing their conversation. "Dr. Montgomery is Dr. Shepherd's ex-wife" she explained with a wide smile on her face.

Lexie nodded her head while pretending to be interested in the piece of gossip that Graziella has just filled her in on. "She's also Dr. Sloan's ex-girlfriend" Intern Steve suddenly announced. It was those words that caught Lexie's interest as her head snapped up with a look of surprise on her face.

"What…how, what…" Lexie stumbled because this new piece of information was really messing with her ability to form words. She took a deep a breath to steady her nerves and looked Intern Steve right in the eye, "how can Dr. Montgomery be Dr. Shepherd's ex-wife _and _Dr. Sloan's ex-girlfriend at the same time?" Lexie asked nervously. Trying not to give anything away that would suggest a more than professional interest on her part where Dr. Sloan was concerned.

Intern Steve scoffed at Lexie as though that was the stupidest question he had ever heard anyone ask, "wow the nurses really slacked off when it came to making sure that you were up to scratch with the latest goss" Steve pointed out with a disappointed look on his face.

"Yeah well maybe if you concentrated less on keeping up with hospital gossip you might actually know how to insert an IV line" Lexie muttered under her breath in annoyance.

"What?" Graziella asked with a frown on her face, "We didn't hear that"

"Oh um, nothing…it's nothing" Lexie reassured them as she shook her head, "I was just mumbling about Dr. Hunt's charting, he has bad handwriting" Lexie explained nervously. "Now what were you saying about Dr. Montgomery?" Lexie asked, hoping to change the subject.

"Well apparently it turns out that while Dr. Shepherd and Dr. Montgomery were married and still living in New York he came home one night only to catch Dr. Montgomery in bed with Dr. Sloan…the best man at their wedding" Graziella explained with a juicy smile on her face.

"Then Dr. Shepherd came to Seattle to get away from the two of them but Dr. Montgomery followed Dr. Shepherd here to win him back and Dr. Sloan followed Dr. Montgomery to try and convince her to go back to New York with him" Steve jumped in and finished off all in one breath, with a smile that matched Graziella's.

The excitement that people seemed to get out of discussing Mark's personal life made Lexie feel sick to her stomach, not to mention even more grateful that no one had found out about her little incident outside of Joe's.

"So what went wrong?" Lexie asked casually, trying to act like the next few words weren't the most important words Lexie would ever hear.

"Well as you already know Shepherd's with Dr. Grey and Dr. Sloan's man whoring his way around the hospital…trying to see if he actually can manage to sleep with the _entire _female staff of Seattle Grace" Steve declared with a proud smile on his face.

"What about Dr. Montgomery?" Lexie asked; she was slowly beginning to grow frustrated with their lack of substantial answers.

"She gave Dr. Sloan the flick and moved to L.A." Graziella answered casually, quickly growing bored with the conversation.

"So um, so what does Dr. Montgomery look like?" Lexie asked hesitantly, deep down she was praying like hell that it hadn't been the same woman she had seen Mark with earlier.

"The most exquisite example of the female species" Steve declared with a longing smile on his face, "I mean _any _man who gets a crack at her has to be a god amongst men…I mean with those oh so long legs and that beautiful smile, not to mention the red hair" Steve added, his smile growing wider if that was even possible.

Lexie suddenly felt as though she was about to throw up her lunch as she heard Steve confirm her very worse fears, of course the woman that Mark Sloan only had eyes for would be his ex-girlfriend…why wouldn't he when he was still clearly in love with her.

You'd have to be wouldn't you if you were willing to sacrifice your relationship with your best friend for a woman like that. If Lexie wasn't already certain of it then she sure as hell was now, Mark Sloan wasn't interested because the only woman who interested him was _Dr. Addison Montgomery_ Lexie thought bitterly.

"Lexie" Meredith called out, suddenly pulling Lexie out of her own thoughts. She couldn't help but smile as she watched Steve and Graziella immediately gathered their things and walked away in opposite directions in fear of Meredith. "I thought that you'd want to know that your mom's been brought in…"

"Wait what, why….what's wrong?" Lexie asked as she worked herself up into a panic.

"Lexie" Meredith called out while shaking her by the shoulders so that she would snap out of it. "She's fine, and if you can pull yourself together I'll take you to see her" Meredith promised sceptically, she wasn't sure Lexie even knew how to relax.

Meredith kept telling herself that the only reason she was being nice was for Susan's sake; that it had nothing to do with the fact that she might have an interest in getting to know her sister.

Lexie silently nodded her head before quickly following Meredith down the hall, deciding that all her Mark Sloan problems could be dealt with later.

**************

"Oh for god sake" Molly exclaimed in exasperation as she saw Lexie walk through the door, Meredith trailing right behind.

"Mom, are you ok" Lexie asked in a panic, convincing herself that something was seriously wrong with her mother.

"Sweetheart I am perfectly fine" Susan reassured her daughter, gently patting her cheek. "I just mentioned to your father this morning that my throat was rather sore and he insisted that I come here" Susan explained as she shot Thatcher an evil look, she really didn't see why everyone was making such a big deal.

Lexie ignored her mother's plea for all of them to stop overreacting and turned her attention to Meredith, silently asking her sister to tell her the truth as though Meredith was hiding something.

"Dr. Bailey took a look and decided that Susan should be looked at by an ENT just to be safe. So we're going to wait for the ENT before we start jumping to any conclusions" Meredith answered with a professional attitude.

It took everything inside of Lexie not to groan in frustration, of course today of all days would be the day that she had no way of avoiding Mark, because of course the ENT that was paged would be Mark Sloan.

As though on cue Mark walked through the door that very second, the minute he spotted Lexie Mark stopped dead in his tracks. It had been the first time he had seen her in days and as far as he was concerned she looked just as incredible as she did then.

Susan prided herself on being able to read people, and the minute she saw the way that the tall handsome doctor was stairing at her daughter Susan realised that something was going on. As she look around the room Thatcher and Meredith seemed to be oblivious to it while Lexie seemed to be determined in avoiding eye contact with the doctor, which only helped to confirm Susan's suspicions.

"Mrs. Grey, how are you today?" Mark asked with a bright smile on his face, he couldn't explain it but when Dr. Bailey had paged him and informed him that she needed a consult on Lexie's mom he panicked.

Mark new it was crazy but he was nervous, and Mark Sloan _never _got nervous when it came to his patients, he was trying to ignore the tiny voice in the back of his head telling him it was because he was meeting _Lexie's _parents for the first time.

He was nervous because Mark didn't do the whole parent thing, yet he had this need to make sure that her mom and dad likeed him….or at least approved of him.

Mark new it was ridiculous because after the way he had royally screwed things up with Lexie a few nights ago he was pretty certain that any chance he had with her had gone out the window.

Mark had tried to give Lexie some distance, hoping that with a bit of space and a bit of time she'd be able to move past that little incident…that _they _could move past it.

Which was crazy to Mark because he had never considered himself as a 'they' or an 'us' when it came to the women he was seeing, even when he was with Addison it never really felt like an 'us' to him.

"I sincerely apologise for disturbing you Dr. Sloan" Susan apologised with a warm smile on her face while she silently studied everything about him.

Mark couldn't help but smile back; the woman had the exact same smile as Lexie's, one of those smiles where you just have to smile back.

Mark could tell straight away that Susan was exactly like Mrs. Shepherd, that she was the kind of woman who loved to cook food for her family or would sit with you whenever you were sick…she was a _mom_. She was the kind of woman who would do anything for her children, she was the mom that Mark's mother never was and for that he instantly liked her.

"Mrs. Grey…"

"Susan" she corrected him, if her hunch was right and there really was something going on between her daughter and Dr. Sloan she wanted him to feel comfortable around her.

Lexie rolled her eyes at her mother's sweet and endearing attitude towards Mark, she began to wonder what it was that she had done to really piss god off.

There had only been one man that Lexie had ever brought home to meet her parents, one man who would have received a warmer welcoming in the Antarctic then he did from Thatcher and Susan.

So why now Lexie thought to herself, why out of all the men in the world did her mother have to develop a warm liking to the one man who was so far from the realm of possibility?

"Well _Susan_ you really have nothing to apologise for, believe it or not they actually _pay _me do this sort of thing around here" Mark teased, winking his eye at her.

"And quite handsomely for it to" Thatcher spoke up loud enough for everyone in the room to hear.

"Daddy" Lexie cried out in humiliation, she had a glaring look on her face that was telling him to cut it out because the last thing she needed was for Mark and Thatcher to start taking shots at one another.

"Sweetheart I'm only stating the obvious, when the hospital announced that Dr. Sloan would be joining the staff they had his pay check plastered all over the newspapers" Thatcher argued while trying to hide a smile.

It was the first time that he could recall seeing his daughter this fired up over something he had said, even when he had done it to that boy she had brought home Lexie hadn't reacted. But then again Thatcher thought to himself that Dr. Sloan was probably more than capable of keeping up with them.

Mark sighed; he didn't think that winning her father's approval was going to be easy because Mark knew that he didn't do fathers. But he slowly began to think that maybe this was hopeless, that he was crazy for even thinking that he could change or that someone like Lexie would be interested in him.

"Well that still doesn't mean you have the right to have a go at Dr. Sloan for how much he earns" Susan whispered through gritted teeth, she could feel Lexie's embarrassment radiating out of her.

"Who's making fun?" Thatcher asked in disbelief, he looked around the room and saw all the serious faces. Thatcher rolled his eyes at their overreaction, "I wasn't making fun or taking a crack at man…frankly if I was earning 2 million a year I'd be shouting it off the roof tops. The man's an excellent surgeon with the highest recommendations then any other Plastic Surgeon in the country, he should be proud of what he's achieved" Thatcher argued as though Mark was his own son.

Mark was completely thrown off guard as he listened to Thatcher Grey talk about him like that, he had _never _had a father figure regard him in such high esteem before today and to be honest it scared the crap out of Mark.

"Actually it's more like 4 million" Mark corrected him with an awkward smile; concerned that Thatcher would mistake his light hearted answered for being conceited. It was also his way of telling Thatcher that he took no offence to his comments about Mark.

"Even better, you only work for however much you think you're worth and not a penny less" Thatcher advised him with a smile on his face.

Lexie knew that it was wrong; she knew that she had no right feeling what she was feeling. But she couldn't help feel a little excited over the fact that Mark and her parents seemed to be getting along so well…not that it was important, or that it meant anything about their future Lexie kept telling herself.

Because there wasn't one, there was no Mark and Lexie, only a Mark and Addison.

The sound of Meredith's pager going off interrupted the conversation that Mark and Thatcher seemed to have going on, "It's Derek, he's about to start Archer's surgery" Meredith informed Mark.

"Go" Mark reassured Meredith, "and tell Addie that I'll swing by later to check up on things" Mark told her.

Lexie tried not to cringe at the sound of Mark's little pet name for Addison Montgomery, she was quickly beginning to hate the woman even more. She knew it was petty but to Lexie's it felt wrong to hear Mark use any other nick name except for little Grey.

"Sure thing" Meredith answered then turned her attention to Susan, "and I hope that everything goes well" she offered before quickly walking out the door.

Susan noticed Lexie's change in attitude as soon as Mark referred to a woman named Addie; Susan's curiosity began to get the better of her.

She hated seeing her daughter like this.

Nearly an hour later Mark finally finished his assessment of Susan, declaring that she was perfectly health and instructed her to just keep drinking lots of warm fluids.

The second that Lexie had heard Mark's reassurance that Susan was fine Lexie smiled at him appreciatively, it wasn't supposed to happen but it did and Lexie felt like an even bigger idiot.

The second she looked into his eyes she couldn't look away, they were hypnotic and Lexie was pretty sure that she could spend the rest of her life doing just that…it didn't help that Mark couldn't seem to look away either.

Susan loudly cleared her throat while trying to hide a small grin on her face; she subtly glanced over towards her husband to see if he had been watching the interaction between Lexie and Mark.

Susan was a bit hesitant about all of this, she was worried that Thatcher would interfere because Mark was surgeon and Thatcher had been burnt badly by one before.

Lexie and Mark both jumped at the sound of Susan's voice, suddenly remembering that they weren't alone in the room they reluctantly looked away from each other. "I um, I have to go…so I'll see you guys tonight" Lexie stuttered before quickly giving her mom a kiss on the cheek and running out the door.

Mark couldn't pretend like that didn't hurt, that watching Lexie run away from him wasn't a kick in the gut. He had been hoping that Lexie would stay behind after her parents left so that they could talk…but if her reaction proved anything to him it was that he really had screwed things up.

Mark smiled awkwardly at Susan and Thatcher, he felt like he was ten years old again and standing in the middle of the principal's office. "It was lovely meeting you" Mark spoke softly before he quickly darted out of the room.

**************

"Dr. Grey" Mark called out to her retreating back as she quickly made her way through the car park.

Lexie could hear him calling out to her but she had no intentions of stopping, because if she did then they'd end up talking and if that happened Lexie knew she'd do something that she would live to regret.

"Little Grey" Mark called out again, only this time his voice sounded a lot closer to her and with an annoyed edged to it.

"Will you stop for five minutes" Mark exclaimed, quickly grabbing her by the arm and turning Lexie on her heel so that he could look her in the eyes.

"What do you want Dr. Sloan?" Lexie asked in frustration, trying to look like she was annoyed at him.

After what had happened inside the exam room with her mom and dad standing right in front of them Lexie had sworn to herself that she'd let it go. That whatever it was that she was feeling for Mark would be put behind her because he was in _love with another woman_.

"I thought that maybe we could go to Joe's, grab a drink and talk about what happened" Mark suggested timidly. He hated this; he hated the fact that when he was around Lexie he wasn't his usual confident and assertive self.

Lexie shook her head because that was definitely never going to happen again. "I'm sorry DR. Sloan but I try to limit my public humiliations to once a year" Lexie answered bitterly before walking away.

"Hey what the hell is that supposed to mean?" Mark retorted as he grabbed her by the hand and pulled her back.

Mark should have known that it was too good to be true, he realised then and there that the reason Lexie hadn't been in a rush to talk to him about that night was because she didn't want to.

She didn't want to revisit the fact that she had spent her night talking to Mark or that she had tried to kiss him because it would ruin her reputation, after all he was the infamous man whore of Seattle Grace.

Mark scoffed as he shook his head in disgust, "I should have known that you were no better than the rest of them" Mark told himself with a sneering look on his face.

"Wait, what?" Lexie cried out in confusion, this time it was her turn to grab Mark by the arm before he had the chance to escape.

"Well isn't that what were talking about…you've used up your one humiliation a year by letting people see you talk to the man whore outside the hospital. God forbid if anyone was to find out that you willingly did it a second time" Mark argued sarcastically.

Lexie scrunched her face up in confusion because she really had no idea what the hell Mark was talking about or why he was so upset about her not wanting to have a drink with him. He was supposed to be in love with Dr. Montgomery so why was _this _such a big deal?

Mark sighed in defeat, he should have known better than to hope for something good in his life…to hope that maybe, just maybe someone could actually find something good in him.

"Just forget it" Mark told her flatly before walking away.

"I know about Addison" Lexie cried out to Mark's retreating back, he instantly froze in his tracks. She didn't know why she did it, it probably would have been better to let Mark go on thinking what he had been thinking but she couldn't.

Mark suddenly felt his heart beating faster than it should have, it suddenly made sense to him. Lexie didn't want to get involved with him because of Addison; she was probably wondering if he could sleep with his best friend's wife then what was to stop him from cheating on her.

That ticking time bomb that Mark had been trying to avoid, trying to stall as long as possible before it exploded and the ugly truth reared its head just went off.

And there wasn't a thing Mark could do about it, he was kicking himself for not handling this better, he could have dealt with this…he could have made sure that Lexie had heard _his _side of things and it all could have been avoidable if he had just told her the truth.

"Who told you?" Mark asked with a shaky voice.

"Some of the Interns were talking" Lexie answered sheepishly as she hesitantly began to approach Mark slowly.

"Well now you know the truth about me, so you better run along Dr. Grey" Mark suggested with a bitter look on his face.

"I don't care that you slipped, I don't care that you slept with your best friend's wife. I like you…" Lexie declared; she paused so she could try to find the right words. "Probably a hell of a lot more than I should, but I refuse to be used Dr. Sloan. I'm not going to play a part in whatever game you have going on with Dr. Montgomery, if this is your way to trying to make her jealous or to make her regret moving to L.A. then I'm afraid you're going to have to find somebody else to do it with" Lexie explained before walking away.

As she continued towards her car and left Mark standing in the middle of the car park Lexie moved her hand to wipe away the tears that began to fall.

**************

"Where is he?" Callie asked Joe flat out, she wasn't in the mood to be playing nice…especially not after being woken up at 3am and dragged out of bed.

"He's over there" Joe pointed out.

Callie turned around to see Mark slumped over, in the same both he had been sitting in with Lexie a few nights ago, cradling a glass of scotch.

"How much has he had to drink?" Callie asked in concern, she had known Mark for nearly two years now and she had never seen the man drunk.

"Honestly I wasn't even keeping count, but you need to get him out of here" Joe ordered before moving to serve his next customer.

As Callie made her way over to Mark she sighed, she wasn't looking forward to this because people who were drunk had a tendency to be very unco-operative people.

"How many fingers am I holding?" Callie asked as she held four fingers out in front of Mark's face, she wanted to get an idea of just how _with it _Mark really was.

Sitting up straight Mark was forced to squint so he could try and fix the blurred vision, "six" Mark slurred before dropping his head in his hand.

Callie looked at her four fingers and shrugged her shoulders, "eh close enough" Callie conceited as she slipped into the booth.

"She knows" Mark slurred as he held his glass up into the air, "to past mistakes continuously screwing me over" Mark toasted before downing the rest of his drink.

"She found out about Addison huh?" Callie asked sympathetically, she had seen how Mark was looking forward to trying something new with Lexie.

"Yep" Mark answered and closed his eyes, "do you want to know the really screwed up thing about all of this?" Mark asked, tapping his fingers against the table as though it was a drum.

"What" Callie asked, she could see that Mark needed to talk about it whether he was sober or not.

"it's not the part where I slept with my best friend's wife that she has a problem with….it's the part where she thinks that I'm still in love with Addison, and that I was trying to use her to make Addison jealous" Mark explained, he began laughing uncontroablly at the absurd idea.

He had finally moved on from Addison, he and Derek had _both _moved on from that whole debacle and yet here it was coming back to bite him in the ass.

"Are you?" Callie asked, she hated to ask…but if there was the slightest chance that Lexie could end up getting hurt because of the whole Addison/Mark saga then Lexie had a right to now.

"What!" Mark grunted at her, he couldn't believe that Callie was actually asking him this; of course he wasn't in love with Addison.

Callie held her hands up in defense, "I was only asking" she tried to reason with Mark.

"Well no, I' m not in love with Addison…I just, you know I thought she was different. I thought that she was my chance at…at having what Derek has, you know to have that one person who cares about you that much that you're the only one they think about. I thought that, that, Lexie could be that one…but apparently I was hugely mistaken" Mark slurred.

Callie studied the creases on Mark's face and his weary eyes, she knew that the only reason Mark was revealing this to her was because he was drunk and that he'd have no memory of it in the morning. But it still didn't mean that it hurt any less to hear him talk like that, Mark made it sound as though he was doomed to a life of loneliness.

"You really like her" Callie announced with a thoughtful and caring look on her face.

Mark nodded his head; he didn't want to talk about Lexie Grey anymore. For the moment he just wanted to forget that she even existed. "Hey Joe can I get another" Mark called out to the bar.

Joe gave Callie a stern look before pretending like he hadn't heard the man.

"Come on Mark I think you've had enough" Callie told him, dragging him out of the booth she managed to wrap an arm around his waist and guide him out of the bar.

"Bye Joe" Mark called out with a drunken smile on his face.

A walk that should have taken no more ten minutes ended up being half an hour before Callie finally managed to step through her front door with Mark's arm draped around her shoulders.

Mark had stumbled and stalled all the way back to her apartment, it had gotten to the point where Callie's arm felt like it was about to fall off. The unco-operative side of him was beginning to come out as she struggled to guide him down the footpath.

Once inside Callie dumped Mark onto the couch and walked into her room so she could find a blanket to cover him with. Quickly walking back out into the living room Callie tiptoed over to the couch and covered Mark with a blanket.

Sitting down on the coffee table Callie watched Mark as he slept curled up in a ball, he had become her best friend and it hurt her to see him struggling. She couldn't believe that Mark actually believed he didn't deserve to be happy because that was far from the truth as far as she was concerned.

Mark deserved to be happy and Callie had this gut feeling that Lexie may just be the one to prove that to him…if they could both find a way to get over themselves.

**************

**Sorry this took so long but I've been suffering a bad case of writer's block with **_**all **_**of my stories. So thanks for reading and please review, it would be greatly appreciated :)**


	4. Take Some Time to Figure Things Out

**************

**Take Some Time to Figure Things Out**

"Are you going to tell me what's wrong with Mark?" Addison asked Callie with a suspicious look on her face. "Because he's been avoiding me all morning, and when I did manage to catch him he hardly said a word" Addison explained.

"What…what are you talking about, Mark's acting like Mark…he's perfectly fine, I really, really don't know what you're talking about" Callie rambled, trying to make a quick escape.

"Not so fast Dr. Torres" Addison called out; grabbing her by the arm and pulling her back to the nurses' station Addison raised an eyebrow at the woman.

Addison may have been gone from the hospital for a while now but there were still some things that never changed and Mark Sloan was one of those.

"He met someone" Callie answered cryptically, she didn't one to be the one to completely spill the beans to Addison.

Addison couldn't help but giggle at Callie's revelation, the idea of Mark Sloan being affected that much by one single woman was unbelievable.

"Hey stop laughing" Callie ordered with a glaring look, she stood there in front of Addison with her arms folded against her chest. Callie thought that Addison was the _last _person to be judging Mark.

Addison immediately wiped the smile off her face the second she realised that Callie was dead serious, she was too dumbstruck to even be able to form a sentence.

Addison kept opening her mouth to try and form a sentence but the words seemed to continue to elude her, "who?" seemed to be the only word that Addison could get out.

"Lexie Grey" Callie announced.

Addison scoffed at Callie's answer, "Grey, Grey as in…."

"Meredith Grey's little sister" Callie interrupted with a serious look on her face.

"Oh come on!" Addison exclaimed in hysterics, "This is some sort of joke that you and Mark are pulling right?" Addison questioned. She couldn't seriously believe that Mark Sloan had met someone and was trying to settle down, let alone with Meredith Grey's little sister no less.

Callie was seething at the mouth as Addison's giggling pierced her ears…she looked as though she was ready to attack.

"Addison I like you and I consider us to be friends so I'm going to say this in the nicest way possible" Callie explained through gritted teeth. "Yes Mark Sloan has met someone and yes she just so happens to be Meredith Grey's little sister, but let me make this very clearly Addison. If you so much as even _think _about going up to Mark and turning this into some sort of joke or start telling him that he'd never be able to stay faithful long enough for it to actually mean something then you'll have to deal with me…even if it means that I have to mess with that pretty head of hair of yours" Callie warned, standing inches away from Addison.

Addison took a step back from the situation so she could pull her head together, she had come to Seattle Grace with the hope that Derek could save her brother and in return she had somehow managed to step on a few toes.

"He's really serious about her" Addison gasped in revelation, she could see now how dead serious Callie was about Mark meeting someone.

Callie eased off a bit and began nodding her head to confirm Addison's suspicions.

"Wow" seemed to be the only word that Addison could say as she walked over to the desk so she could have something to lean on. It felt like someone had kicked her in the gut, and it wasn't because she was still in love with Mark…that was far from it.

The reason that it was having such an affect on Addison was because lately she had been feeling as though her life was stuck, she felt like the move to L.A. really hadn't made much of a difference to her life as she was hoping it would…despite the change of scenery she was still the same Addison.

And coming back to Seattle she had actually found herself relieved to be back because it meant that she wouldn't be the only one that was stuck, she could always count on Mark to be stuck.

Now all of a sudden Addison found herself floating along with no one there to help her paddle her way through it all.

"I know" Callie agreed, cracking a smile at the Neonatal surgeon Callie let out a breath she hadn't even realised she was holding in. Feeling a lot more relaxed and a lot calmer Callie walked over to Addison and stood next to her.

"Now if they could just get over themselves all would be right with the world" Callie teased, momentarily forgetting that she hadn't told Addison _everything_.

"Wait a minute what, what are you talking about?" Addison questioned suspiciously.

Callie sighed in frustration and muttered something under breath that Addison couldn't really make out. "Just for get it" Callie told her then began walking away.

"Callie" Addison called out, quickly chasing after the Ortho in three inch heels.

Addison finally managed to catch up to her at the elevators where Callie stood in front of the doors tapping her feet impatiently. "Will you please just tell me what's going on" Addison pleaded with the woman.

Callie looked Addison in the eye and she could see that she was sincere, that she really wanted to know. But Callie wasn't sure that Mark would appreciate Addison knowing everything that was going on.

Callie shook her head and quickly walked onto the elevator that had just arrived; as she went to press the button Addison held her hand against the door to stop it from closing.

"Believe what you want Callie but I'm telling you the truth when I say that I'm only asking because I'm worried about Mark. Despite everything's that happened between us Mark and I were always first and foremost friends before anything else, I'm asking because his my _friend_ and I want to see him happy" Addison tried to reason with Callie.

Callie sighed, she was a sap…she was the type of person who fell for the emotional, pull at the heart string, arguments and she could already hear the words forming on the tip of her tongue. "He likes her…actually he's crazy about her but she found about you and New York" Callie explained vaguely, hoping that she didn't have to fill in those blanks.

Addison cringed as she heard Callie explain things to her, she hated to even think that what she and Mark had done would jeopardise any chance he had at being happy.

"But that's not the problem, the problem is that she thinks that Mark's still in love with you which he isn't" Callie quickly reassured Addison. "And that's everything I know, so if you don't mind" Callie asked pointing to Addison's hand, "I really have to get to surgery".

"Uh yeah sure thing" Addison agreed and took a step back.

As she watched the elevator doors close Addison's mind was running a mile a minute as a million thoughts began to crowd her head. The idea of Mark being in love with her was laughable and they both knew it...there was this guilt starting to eat away inside of her, she really hated the idea of Mark missing out on life because of her.

**************

"I heard that Dr. Shepherd caught Dr. Sloan and Dr. Montgomery in bed together _again_ last night" Olivia whispered to one of the nurses, unbeknown to them that Lexie was lurking around the corner and could hear every single word they were saying.

One of the nurses scoffed, "it wouldn't surprise me, that man will sleep with anything that has a pulse…he's not called the man whore for nothing" she chanted before they all broke out into a fit of giggles.

Lexie couldn't take it anymore, she could feel her own blood begin to boil as she listened to those women go on and on about something they had no clue about. As far as Lexie was concerned they had no right to judge Mark or to comment on his life, even if he was still in love with Addison.

Before Lexie knew what she was doing she marched over towards the nurses' station and slammed a piled of charts onto the desk, the three nurses all jumped at the sudden sound and turned their heads towards Lexie.

"You know maybe if the nurses spent less time talking about a certain Attending's personal life then the number of patients that die around here might actually be significantly less" Lexie commented through gritted teeth. "And for that matter what ever goes on in the private lives of Dr's Shepherd, Sloan and Montgomery are none of your business. All you need to know is that they are the _best _surgeons in their field and that any other nurse would _kill _to be able to work with them" Lexie scolded the three nurses. She tried not to focus solely on Mark because she knew that would only start a new string of gossip around the hospital.

"Now if it isn't too much trouble I was hoping that the three of you could maybe find it deep within yourselves to actually go and nurse the patients….I'm only asking because we doctors don't want to feel like we're asking too much of you" Lexie requested with a sarcastically sweet smile on her face.

The three nurses looked Lexie up and down, wondering where the hell she got off telling them what to do. But none of them were going to argue with her in case she went running off to the Chief; they couldn't afford to have the Chief mad at them.

"Yes Dr. Grey" Olivia quickly replied before scurrying off in search of a patient to help, the other two nurses not far behind.

Lexie watched as the three nurses disappeared with a proud smile on her face; it felt good to be able to finally tell someone off about all the gossiping and time that people spent around here talking about Mark's personal life.

"You're a brave woman Dr. Grey" Addison declared as she walked up to Lexie with a warm smile on her face. She had been making her way down the hallway when she was distracted by the sound of someone yelling.

She was surprised as she stood to the side and watched a young woman give the nurses' a good serving, something that no one would dispute they deserved. Addison couldn't help but feel jealous because she never had the guts to do what Lexie had just done.

Lexie laughed nervously, looking Addison up and down she suddenly felt tens time smaller than she already did. Addison Montgomery looked even more beautiful up close then she did from afar, and it did nothing for Lexie's self-esteem.

"Excuse me?" Lexie squeaked, her voice a pitch higher than it should have been.

"Well I just meant that there aren't a lot of doctors around here that would be willing to take on the nurses like you just did" Addison explained with a sweet smile.

Lexie couldn't help but giggle softly at Addison's praise of her actions, she wanted to hate the woman but Addison was making it really difficult. Lexie could see exactly _why _Mark had fallen in love with her.

"I don't know if it was incredibly brave or incredible stupid, I guess we'll have to wait and see until the next time I need something from one of them" Lexie joked as she began collecting the charts she had slammed down onto the desk.

Addison watched Lexie as she tried to pull her belonging together while quickly becoming flustered and she was reminded of what Callie had told her. This was the woman who had managed to capture the attention of Mark Sloan and Lexie was now convinced that _she _was the only one that Mark wanted.

Addison couldn't let this go on for much longer and she could quickly see a plan beginning to form in her mind.

"Dr. Grey I was hoping that you might have a minute to spear, I'd really like to talk to you about something and it's important" Addison requested hesitantly. She didn't want Lexie to feel like she was stepping on any more toes.

"I, um I…Dr. Shepherd" Lexie suddenly called out, she was grasping at straws to find a reason to walk away. Having a heart to heart with the woman who had eyes for the same man was the last thing she wanted to be doing.

Addison whipped her head around as she looked around but there was no sign of Derek, turning her attention back to Lexie Addison furrowed her brow in confusion.

"Dr. Shepherd isn't here" Addison pointed out sceptically.

Lexie rolled her eyes, trying to make it look as though Addison was the crazy one. "I know that, what I….what I meant was that I'm on Dr. Shepherd's services today and he's expecting me. If I'm late he's going to be really mad and I can't afford to have him going off at me" Lexie protested.

Addison cracked an evil grin, "you can just blame me…"

"But then Dr. Shepherd would be mad at you" Lexie interrupted her.

Addison casually shrugged her shoulders, "wouldn't be the first time" she reassured Lexie before leading the young Intern down the corridor.

**************

Lexie and Addison sat in the darkest corner of the cafeteria, each cradling a cup of coffee as they eyed each other with an awkward smile on each of their faces. They didn't really want anyone to be able to see them or to hear them for that matter.

"So" Lexie stated nervously, looking down at the cup of coffee sitting on the table in front of her. She wasn't sure _why _she had agreed to this but Addison had had this look on her face like whatever it was it was serious.

"Look Dr. Grey…" Addison sighed, she could see that Lexie didn't really want to be there but what she needed to say was important. She needed to try and make it right for Mark's sake; she needed to make Lexie understand.

"Lexie, my name's Lexie" she corrected Addison.

"Okay _Lexie_" Addison declared with a faint smile on her face, she was beginning to see why Mark was falling for the woman. "I know what's going on. I mean I know about you and Mark…"

"There isn't anything going on between me and Dr. Sloan…other than teaching because he's my teacher, and he has double-board certified things to teach" Lexie jumped in nervously. She didn't want Mark getting in trouble for her own inappropriate behaviour; especially when she had manifested it all inside her own head.

"Lexie I really think you've got the wrong end of the stick here, and what ever it is you think you know about my relationship with Mark is wrong…." Addison tried to explain, but it looked like Lexie wasn't going to make this easy on the Neonatal surgeon.

"So you didn't sleep with your husband's best friend while you were still _married_?" Lexie asked sarcastically, she really didn't need Addison's relationship with Mark rubbed in her face.

"If we could go back and correct our mistakes…stop ourselves from doing what we did then we would. But we can't Lexie, we can't go back and undo our mistakes, the only thing that we can do is learn from our mistakes and look to the future" Addison tried to reason with Lexie.

Addison had always regretted what she had done, and she knew that once Mark realised just how much he had lost because of it he too had begun to regret it.

"I'm sorry Dr. Montgomery but I'm not really sure I understand where you're going with this" Lexie tried to explain.

"What Mark and I did was a terrible thing that hurt a lot of people and destroyed a lot of relationships, but what you have to understand is that Derek and I were drifting apart…I was lonely and Mark was there when I needed some one…" Addison began saying, going completely off course.

"Dr. Montgomery with all do respect I'm really not the person you should be talking to about this, if you feel like you need some closure on what did to Derek then Derek's the one you should be talking to. I can't absolve you of your affair…"

"First of all It's Addison" she corrected the young Intern, "and secondly you're right, but this isn't about me…this isn't about me trying to justify my affair with Mark. I put that behind me the day I moved to L.A." Addison explained.

She tried to ignore the sudden twinge of guilt eating away at her as she said those words.

Lexie furrowed her brow towards Addison, "then what is this about?" she asked hesitantly while sneaking in a glance at her watch.

She was already ten minutes late meeting Derek, he was going to kill her if she was gone for much longer and the idea of making the Head Neurosurgeon mad at her wasn't very appealing.

"It's about you and this ridiculous notion you've got in that head of yours that Mark is in love with me" Addison answered bluntly, she had a blank look on her face and her lips were pursed.

"Isn't he?" Lexie asked, her own facial expression matching Addison's.

Addison sighed; Lexie _really_ wasn't going to make this easy. "No he isn't and Mark knows that and I know that, the only person who doesn't seem to know that is _you_" Addison argued.

"How can you be so sure that Mark isn't still in love with you, you didn't even stick around long enough to find out?" Lexie argued. She was sceptical about believing Addison; Lexie didn't believe that the woman could fully understand the situation when she hadn't stuck around long enough to resolve it.

"True" Addison conceited, she had gone over it all in her head a million a times since moving to L.A. and she had realised early on that she hadn't handled things very well…neither with Derek nor Mark. "But I didn't need to 'stick around' to know that Mark was never going to turn into what I wanted" Addison tried to reason with herself just as much as she was trying to reason with Lexie.

Addison slowly took a sip of her coffee as she studied the sober look on Lexie's face. Lexie looked like she wanted to believe Addison, like she wanted to _hope _that she actually had a chance with Mark.

"Which was?" Lexie asked hesitantly, she wasn't sure whether or not she really wanted to know any more about Addison's relationship with Mark.

"The whole thing" Addison answered flatly, "I wanted someone stable who barbequed and taught kids how to play catch. That wasn't Mark Sloan" Addison explained. "Yet funnily enough I'm still no where closer to find that guy" Addison added, hoping it would lighten the mood.

Lexie reluctantly smiled at the woman, she knew how hard it could be to try and find a guy who was at least half decent. But to Lexie Mark seemed like that guy, when she looked at Mark she saw the potential to be better than he already was…not that there was anything wrong with whom he was now.

Addison leant in closer towards Lexie, "he's crazy about you" she whispered confidently. Addison hadn't been sure of a lot of things over the last few months, but there was one thing that she was certain about right now.

And that was the fact that Mark Sloan was serious about Lexie Grey.

"You're just saying that" Lexie muttered sheepishly, trying to look at anything else besides Addison, she didn't want to get her hopes up or to let Addison see that what she was saying gave Lexie cause to re-evaluate her theory.

Addison shook her head adamantly, "Last night you told Mark that you couldn't be a part of whatever it is that was going on between the two of you because he was just trying make me jealous. Then I spent all this morning trying to track Mark down because I needed a friend…but he wouldn't talk to me" Addison declared with a shocked look on her face. "He didn't want to talk to me or be in the same room with me in case you saw us…in case you made it out to be something that it wasn't".

Lexie opened her mouth to say something but she didn't know what, she didn't know what she was supposed to say that. Addison was basically telling her that she had completely misread things and that the only thing that was really going on was Lexie's over imagination.

Looking at Addison and the determined look on her face Lexie could see that she was telling her the truth about where things stood with Mark, and more importantly she believed it. But she was pretty certain that Mark now thought she was a complete lunatic.

"I guess I proved him right, I really am pathetic" Lexie pouted, she couldn't believe she had been such an idiot.

"Excuse me" Addison giggled; despite things starting off awkward she had found herself easing in to the conversation and even going so far as to enjoying the company.

Lexie was a stark contrast to her sister Meredith, and the last thing that Addison had ever envisaged was that she'd be hanging out and having a casual conversation with a Grey.

Lexie sighed; pushing her cold coffee aside Lexie dropped her head into her hand. "When I first met Mark he referred to me as little Grey and I didn't mind it because it was a hell of a lot better than being called an idiot or…"

"Pathetic" Addison jumped in.

Lexie nodded her head as the two smiled at each other. Lexie knew that it was probably wrong, because after all Addison Montgomery was the ex-wife of her half-sisters fiancé, but Lexie was actually enjoying herself. For the first time since starting at the hospital, other than Mark, Lexie actually felt welcomed and relaxed around Addison.

"Yeah well he told me not to get ahead of myself because I still had the rest of the day to prove how pathetic I really was…and he was right" Lexie declared with a hurt look on her face.

"Lexie you are not pathetic and Mark _knows _that, just try and talk to him" Addison encouraged Lexie.

Lexie began shaking her head, "what's the point, I've already made myself look an idiot…not to mention the fact that if Mark doesn't already think I'm pathetic then probably more like psychotic".

"Lexie I meant what I said, Mark is crazy about you and the fact that he was willing to sacrifice our friendship just so that he can prove to you that you're wrong says a lot" Addison argued.

Addison looked down at the time on her watch and realised that they had been talking for half an hour and that Derek was probably on the war path by now, tearing the hospital upside down as he searched for his Intern.

"Come on" Addison ordered, quickly rising from her chair she grabbed the two cups and threw them away.

Walking down the corridor in a comfortable silence Lexie thought about everything Addison had said to her. Maybe she was right, maybe Mark was serious about her but Lexie wasn't sure she could take that risk again…not after what had happened at Joe's.

"Then why did he pull away?" Lexie suddenly asked; the question had been bugging ever since it had happened. And Derek wasn't someone that Lexie could ask, so asking Addison seemed to make sense.

"He did what?" Addison asked with a frown on her face.

"Mark pulled away, a few nights ago I tried to kiss him and he pulled away. If he's really as crazy about me as you think he is then why did he pull away?" Lexie asked.

Lexie's admission threw Addison off, hearing Mark Sloan turn down the advances of a woman was something Addison never thought she would hear. "I don't know" she answered honestly because it was the truth, "I don't know why Mark did that".

Addison suddenly stopped walking and looked Lexie in the eyes, "but what I do know is that Mark is a very protective man…not only of himself but of the people he care's about as well. And trust me when I say that Mark's defences are very hard to get through, he keeps them up pretty high and the fact that he let you get past them means something" Addison explained with a pleading look.

She hoped that Lexie would finally understand that when Mark allowed you into his life it wasn't something to be questioned.

"Dr. Grey" Derek suddenly called out with a very displeased look on his face before turning his attention to Addison. "Addison is there a reason _why _my Intern's down here talking to you instead of up on the surgical floor looking after Mr. Gutherman?"

"Dr. Shepherd…" Lexie tried to explain but immediately stopped talking after Derek gave her a look.

"Dr. Grey if you're not to busy maybe you could find a minute to go and prep Mr. Gutherman for surgery" Derek ordered sarcastically.

"Ye…yes Sir" Lexie stuttered before scampering off to the surgical floor.

"Derek if you're going to be mad at someone be mad at me, I'm the one who was keeping her preoccupied" Addison tried to explain but she could see that Derek wasn't buying it.

"Find your own Intern Addison" Derek called out over his shoulder as he began to make his own way back to the surgical floor.

**************

"Oh sweetheart, what are you're doing home so early" Susan asked, surprised that Lexie would already be home.

"Things were quiet at the hospital and Dr. Shepherd let me finish early today so I bolted and ran" Lexie answered, swallowing another spoonful of double chocolate fudge ice-cream.

"Uh oh" Susan chanted as she next to Lexie on the couch next and watched her dig into the carton of ice-cream like there was no tomorrow.

"What?" Lexie pouted.

"Sweetheart I've always been able to tell whenever you're having a bad day because the chocolate fudge ice-cream makes its appearance" Susan explained, she leant across to tuck a piece of loos hair behind Lexie's ear. "Sweetheart what's really going on?" Susan asked anxiously.

Susan had no doubt in her mind that there was something wrong with Lexie, if the way she had been acting around Dr. Sloan during her check up didn't prove that, then the way she had been behaving when she got home sure did.

The minute Lexie had come home after her 'talk' with Mark outside the car park she immediately stomped up to her room and locked herself inside. She refused to come out and Susan had been worried about her.

Lexie shook her head adamantly, trying to convey to her mother that she was absolutely fine without using any words. But the truth was that she wasn't fine, she had spent the rest of her day analysing every single word that had been said during her conversation with Addison.

She wanted to talk to Mark, she wanted to apologise to him but she wasn't sure that Mark would even want to hear it. Why would he waste his time with a loony when he could have someone who was sane? Lexie asked herself, and that thought only made her even more depressed.

"I think you've had enough" Susan indicated, she took the full spoon from Lexie's hand and ate the ice-cream herself.

Before Lexie even had a chance to protest they were interrupted by an excited Thatcher who came running down the stairs. "Ok I'm gonna go now" he declared giving Lexie a kiss on the forehead then turned his attention to Susan, "I'm not sure what time I'll be home from Luke's so don't wait up" he informed her. Giving Susan a quick kiss Thatcher ran out the door.

"Why's he going to Luke's bar?" Lexie asked; she was trying to not laugh at her father's display of excitement.

Susan shook her head giggling at her husband, "I don't think I've ever met a man who doesn't live in New York but is that obsessed with the Yankees before your father".

"You haven't met Mark" Lexie muttered, reluctantly standing up she stomped in to the kitchen so she could put the ice-cream away.

Lexie turned around from the fridge and froze as she looked at Susan; the woman was standing in the doorway with a huge grin on her face. "What's making you so happy?" Lexie asked hesitantly.

"I was just thinking about that old adage about mother's knowing best…"

"Excuse me?" Lexie asked, thrown off by her mother's comment.

"I had a feeling that your sulking had something to do with Mark…"

"_Mark_" Lexie emphasised his name, "since when are you on a first name basis with my boss?" Lexie asked in disbelief. She didn't need a lecture from her mother after coping one from Addison.

"Yes Lexie _Mark_, and despite what you might think I'm not blind young lady. I saw the way that the two of you were looking at each other yesterday…"

"Yeah well it doesn't matter, I made a complete mess of everything" Lexie whined, she was trying really hard not to cry.

"Sweetheart nothing is ever as bad as it really seems" Susan tried to reassure her, if Mark Sloan was something that Lexie wanted to pursue than Susan had every intention of encouraging her.

"Oh trust me this time I crewed up _badly_" Lexie replied, she was dumbstruck by how casual her mother was acting.

"Well why don't you tell me what happened exactly and maybe we can find a way to fix this" Susan suggested, leading Lexie towards the stools around the kitchen island.

Lexie sighed as she sat down and explained everything that had happened at the hospital yesterday and today. She had explained everything, starting from the horrible miss-understanding which was completely her fault, to the conversation that she had had with Addison and how at the end of the day she actually liked Addison.

Susan shook her head as she gave Lexie a look that only a mother could give, "I am really disappointed in you Lexie. I thought I had raised you better than to judge a person by idol gossip" Susan scolded Lexie in disbelief.

"I know" Lexie groaned, "I know that I screwed up and I know that he'll probably never want to speak to me again…I don't need my mother telling me how badly I've screwed up because I already _know_" Lexie literally cried.

Tears were streaming down her eyes, after everything that had happened over the last few days Lexie couldn't take it anymore. She was emotionally and mentally drained by the whole situation, and the ability to stay strong in front of everyone was quickly waning.

"Shhh" Susan tried to sooth Lexie, wrapping an arm around her shoulders Susan pulled Lexie closer towards her.

The two of them sat like that for a few minutes, Susan patting Lexie's hair. "Now had you tried talking to him?" Susan asked optimistically.

"No" Lexie answered shaking her head.

"Well why on earth not" Susan asked in disbelief, she loved her daughter dearly but sometimes Lexie could be absolutely clueless.

Lexie shrugged her shoulders, she knew _why _she hadn't tried to talk to Mark at the hospital today but her mother didn't really need to know that. Putting it plain and simple she was scared, Lexie didn't want to try and talk to Mark she was afraid of losing him.

As long as she didn't talk to him Lexie could keep hoping that there was still a chance of something happening. But the second she spoke to Mark those hopes would be quickly dashed and Lexie wasn't sure she could handle that.

"Sweetheart you'll never know if you don't at least _try _and talk to him" Susan pointed out softly; she didn't want her daughter to feel like she was trying to run her life. But Susan refused to stand by and watch her daughter throw away her chance at happiness.

"But he already thinks…"

"Now Lexie Grey that is just the kind of talking that caused all this mess in the first place…you putting words into Mark's mouth" Susan scolded her daughter. "Lexie you can't keep _assuming _that you know what is going on in that man's head, you need to _ask_ him" Susan directed.

Lexie thought about what her mother had said and suddenly it all made sense, her mother was right after all…_she _had been the one to cause all this trouble because she made assumptions that she had no business making. And now she was doing the exact same thing again, if Lexie was ever going to be able to work with Mark she knew that she needed to _talk _to him.

"What would I do without you?" Lexie asked, quickly giving her mom a kiss and running out the front door.

**************

Lexie paced up and down the corridor of the Archfield hotel nervously, every time she found the courage to knock on the door her nerves would get the better of her.

She had spent the last ten minutes pacing up and down, weighing the pros and cons to knocking on that door. In the end it all came down to one thing…regret. Could Lexie honestly spend the rest of her life wondering what might have happened if she hadn't been such a chicken?

Taking a deep breath to steady her nerves Lexie finally bit the bullet and pounded her fist on the door, not even a second later Lexie felt all her resolve slip away as she looked Mark up and down. She could feel her heart beating faster and her hands getting clammy as her eyes kept wondering back to his shirtless body.

"You're not room service" Mark stated, firmly irritated that Lexie was standing at his door.

Mark had resigned himself to the fact that Lexie didn't want anything to do with him; he had settled with the idea that he was destined to have his past haunt him for the rest of his life.

Then the _Intern_ decided that she had changed her mind and waltzed right back in like what she had said the previous night meant nothing.

Mark had even spent the entire day hiding in his office just so he could avoid talking to her…or at least avoid having her scrutinize every single thing he did.

He had even stayed away from Addison because, despite making peace with the fact that Lexie wanted nothing to do with him, Mark didn't want to take the risk. He didn't want to give Lexie anymore reason to believe the stupid hospital gossip.

And that was what had pissed Mark off the most; he thought that Lexie was different…that she wouldn't allow idol gossip or other people's judgements to dictate what she thought of him. But apparently Mark was wrong, apparently Lexie believed the word of a nurse more than she believed his and unfortunately for Mark that wasn't anything new.

"I told a nurse off" Lexie declared, quickly pushing her way into the room. "I _yelled _at a nurse…no make that _three_ nurses" Lexie explained. She threw her bag onto the couch before taking her coat off and tossed it onto the couch as well, all of the sudden she was hot.

Lexie knew she needed to calm herself down if she was going to have a rational conversation with Mark. In large strides Lexie quickly made her way over to the mini-bar and poured herself a glass of scotch, taking a much needed gulp of the amber liquid.

"I broke a cardinal rule inside the walls of the hospital and I _yelled at three nurses_" Lexie emphasised, waving her glass of scotch around in the air.

Her nerves were quickly beginning to get the better of her and it wasn't helping that Mark stood by the open door with his arms folded across his chest with an indifferent look on his face, as if what she had just said meant nothing to him.

She could clearly make out the definition of every muscle in his entire body, as her eyes roamed over his biceps and his firm stomach Lexie suddenly had trouble breathing.

"Are you just going to stand there?" Lexie snapped, the least he could do was acknowledge the fact that she was standing right in front of him.

Mark refused to answer her.

She took another a sip of her scotch before turning her back on Mark, trying to compose herself before she carried on. "I told off three nurses today because I overheard them talking about you and Addison, they were saying….well it doesn't matter what they were saying. What matters is the things that they were saying about you, about the two of you it, I mean I know that what they had been saying wasn't true but it still…it still made me jealous" Lexie whispered.

With her back still to Mark Lexie closed her eyes in the hopes of trying to stop herself from crying, turning into a blubbering idiot would only prove to Mark how truly pathetic she really was.

Her nervousness and fear was quickly being replaced with anger as he continued to stay silent, they couldn't really have a conversation if Mark refused to co-operate.

"You pulled away, I tried to kiss you and you pulled away. Then in walks Addison Montgomery and you're all smiles and doey eyed, people are...people are talking. So what else was I supposed to think, it was the only reason I could think of why you wouldn't kiss me" Lexie exclaimed before completely downing the rest of her scotch.

The burning sensation that coursed down her throat was a welcome change in feeling.

Somewhere in between her ranting Mark had closed the door and took a step back into the room, despite living in a hotel Mark was conscious about anyone overhearing their conversation.

"Am I really so bad?" Lexie asked him with bated breath, now that she stood in front of Mark completely exposed and completely vulnerable Lexie realised that all of this bad been a stupid idea.

She shook her head in frustration at herself, why on earth she had let Addison Montgomery and her mother talk her into this she had no idea. But one thing she did know was that she wasn't going to hang around to make a fool of herself any longer.

"Just forget it" she grunted, slamming the glass down onto the coffee table she quickly gathered her bag and coat before making her way over to the door.

With her hand grasped around the door knob Lexie turned to look at him, it was a softer, more tired, look than the one she had given him only seconds ago and that scared Mark a bit. Because somewhere in the back of his mind Mark knew that it meant she either didn't care anymore or that she had given up on him…on them.

"You didn't kiss me back" she whispered before turning back towards the door.

Suddenly she could feel him standing right behind her, his breath against the back of her neck. Mark hesitantly stroked a hand down Lexie's arm before grasping her hand and pulling it away from the door knob.

He knew that he owed her an explanation over what had happened outside of Joe's, but more importantly Mark knew that if he had any chance with Lexie then he needed to get over himself and he needed to do it fast.

He took a step back and walked over to the bar, this time pouring each of them a drink. "The most refined, professional, lady-like doctor in that hospital came to my defence once. Best thing she could come up with was 'he's a whore'" Mark explained. He still remembered the day that the nurses had united against him clearly.

Lexie shook her head to the glass of scotch that Mark was offering her and sat down on the edge of the bed, she watched Mark as he took a huge of swig of his own glass.

"Ever since I stepped foot through the doors of Seattle Grace I've been known as the man whore, as the man who slept with his best friend's wife and subsequently with any other woman he could get" Mark stated. There was a clear sign of resentment on his face, "Dr. Torres was the first person inside that hospital who actually believed I was good for more than sex".

Lexie hated hearing Mark talk about himself like that; when she looked at Mark she didn't see what he saw or what anyone else saw. Lexie saw a good man who was struggling to find his way to the top outside of the O.R.

Lexie silently rose from her spot and made her way over to Mark, she sat down in front of him on the coffee table and placed her hand on his knee. "In the last few days that I've been trying to avoid you I haven't been sulking about the fact that I'd been missing out on having sex with you. All I could keep thinking of was the fact that I was missing the first real friend I had made since coming here…"

"You're not…." Mark asked, not being able to actually finish the question. He couldn't lie about the fact that he was hurt to hear that she hadn't been thinking about him in that way.

Lexie shook her head while trying not to laugh at him, "Mark trust me when I say that any woman would have to be blind not to find you more than appealing. But what I meant to say was that when I tried to kiss you I didn't do it because I thought that you'd be a guaranteed goodtime. I tried to kiss you because you Mark Sloan are an amazing man…"

Mark scoffed at Lexie's declaration, he had never heard anybody use the word amazing to describe him outside of the bedroom or the O.R. and he never thought that he would.

"I respect you as a man. As a surgeon, as a teacher. I respect you" Lexie tried to explain, "and while I don't know what this _is _exactly" Lexie stated pointing back and forth between the two of them, "I do know for a fact that I'm not willing to jeopardise a potential friend for something else…especially if _you're _not interested in me in that way. Because if you're not than I can live with that, but what I can't live with is losing you as a friend" Lexie rambled.

She finally felt like she was making some sort of progress with Mark and she couldn't help but smile over that.

Mark leant forward and placed his glass onto the coffee table before turning his attention back to Lexie. When he opened his mouth to speak Lexie quickly leant over and closed her lips over his, sweeping her tongue into his warm mouth. Mark pulled his lips away from her and jumped up from the couch.

Walking over the other side of the room Mark began to pace and up down, the room suddenly felt a lot smaller than it really was.

Lexie shook her head in disbelief, one rejection apparently wasn't enough she had to go back for seconds. "I'm pathetic" Lexie muttered loud enough for the both of them to hear her.

"Lexie…"

She shook her head in protest, "I really don't need to hear it Mark. Let's just call it a night and tomorrow morning we can _try _being friends" Lexie suggested.

Quickly gathering her things Lexie headed towards the door.

Mark made a mad dash towards Lexie and grabbed her by the arms, "I made the mistake of giving you the chance to walk away without letting me explain last time, I'm not going to make the same mistake again little Grey" Mark declared softly.

"Mark…"

"Lexie I'm crazy about you…."

"Really because this need to jump away from me every time I try to kiss you doesn't exactly support that argument Mark" Lexie pointed out with a sceptical look.

Mark let go of his grip on Lexie and rubbed his eyes as he groaned in annoyance, "this is different…you're different Lexie. I know how this _should _go down, I'm supposed to accept your advances and jump into bed with you because that's what I'd do if you were any other woman. But you're _not _any other woman Lexie, you're the woman who I'm not only insanely attracted to but also the same woman who I'd be more than happy to spend hours on end just talking to. I refuse to treat you like all those other woman, you deserve better than that, you deserve better than me" Mark whispered.

"From where I'm standing you look pretty good just the way you are" Lexie tried to reassure him.

Mark shook his head; "I shouldn't be enough for you Lexie. I'm a bad guy" Mark argued, he was trying to avoid looking her in the eye because he was afraid that she'd laugh at him.

Lexie made her way over to Mark as a small smile graced her lips; she gently stroked his face before leaning forward and softly kissing him on the lips. "Mark I'm crazy about you, but clearly you have some things that you need to figure out…"

"Wait a minute, I tell you that I'm not willing to treat you like all the other women and now you're walking away" Mark asked with a slight glare on his face, his fists clench tightly and anger began to course through him.

Lexie adamantly shook her head, "I'm not walking away" she tried to reassure him. "But Mark you're clearly trying to do something new here and I don't want to be the one to jeopardise whatever it is you feel you have to do…"

"So what then" Mark asked bluntly, he had enough with all the games.

"All I meant was that we'll take this as slow as you want to take this, but right now I think you need some time to clear your head so you can figure out whether or not this is really something that you want. And maybe you can finally come to realise that you _deserve _to be happy" Lexie explained.

She stood up on her tiptoes and kissed him gently, putting all her heart and soul and everything she was feeling into it. "When you figure it out you know where to find me" Lexie told him with a genuine grin on her face.

Mark nodded his head, dumbfounded at what Lexie had just said to him. She was willing to wait as long as it took for him to figure out what was going on in his head. Other than the Shepherd's Mark had never had anyone do that for him before.

He knew that he didn't deserve her or the chance she was giving him, but he also knew that he wasn't going to throw it away so easily like you usually would. Mark knew that he had a self-destructive tendency but he'd be damned if he let it destroy him this time.

Watching Lexie step onto the elevator Mark couldn't help but smile at her as the doors closed.

**************

**Ok first off I just wanted to say that I'm sorry for the lack of updates on any of my stories but I've been busy and blocked. I also wanted to let you know that I should have an update for Past and Present and Keep Breathing within the next day or two…writer's block for these two stories finally gone yippy =)**

**Secondly I just wanted to say that I know this chapter hasn't gone down the way most people had hoped, but if you stick with it I promise that there truly is a method to my madness.**

**So please review and let me know what you think. **


	5. What Do You Think?

**************

**What Do You Think?**

"She's taking a step back" Mark stated, leaning over Callie's shoulder so he could take a look at the list of patients that had been brought in through the ER this morning.

Callie jumped at the sudden sound of Mark's voice; turning around to glare at him she hit Mark across the arm with the clip board. "What have I told you about doing that" Callie scolded Mark; she really hated it when people snuck up on her.

"I don't know" Mark answered innocently, pretending like he couldn't remember the conversation that they had had just last week about this. "I thought you were done with all this crap about working extra shifts in the ER" Mark questioned her.

Callie scoffed at Mark's stupid question. "Unless you know something that I don't and my father's miraculously reinstated my trust fund then _no_…I haven't finished with all this extra shift crap" Callie answered Mark's question, walking over to the nurses' station with a pile of charts in her hands.

"Some of us aren't flashy Plastic surgeons with million dollar hands" Callie muttered under breath but she knew that Mark had heard her. Instinctually the guilt began to creep up on Callie, she could never stay mad at Mark and besides that wasn't even the point…none of this was Mark's fault.

"Sorry" Callie apologised immediately but Mark just shrugged his shoulder in return, he really hadn't been offended by it.

He had known Callie long enough to know that when she was mad she sometimes said things that she didn't mean. "So still no luck with the old man" Mark pointed out with a sympathetic smile on his face.

Mark wasn't sure what was a harder pill to swallow, to have your parents never show any kind of affection or to have your parents always dote on you and then one day suddenly pull the rung out from underneath you because of a choice you've made.

"No" Callie pouted, "I mean you were right when you said that supporting someone and respecting someone aren't the same thing. But it doesn't mean that it hurts any less. Mark he's my _father_, he's supposed to love me no matter what…parents are supposed to love their children no matter how big of a screw up they think you are…"

"You're dad doesn't think you're a screw up" Mark tried to reassure her, "he just needs some time" Mark added, going for the encouraging best friend vibe.

"Whatever" Callie answered running her hand through hair, she really didn't want to talk about her father anymore. "So who's taking a step back" Callie asked, suddenly remembering the comment Mark had made when he scared the living the day lights out of her.

Mark sighed as he suddenly remembered just how screwed up his life really was and why he was procrastinating with small talk about Mr. Torres. "Lexie" Mark answered bluntly, he really needed someone to talk to and the only way he was going to do that was by being completely honest.

It still amazed Mark how sometimes there were certain things that he could talk to Callie about that he couldn't say to Derek. Mark wasn't sure what that meant exactly for his friendship with Derek, but what he did know was that it was a nice change to have _two _people in his life that he trusted that much.

Up until Callie came along Mark had only ever really had Derek as someone he could trust and someone he could talk to, but that was different now and it was a good different.

"Ok I think that we could _both_ use a coffee right about now" Callie suggested, directing Mark towards the nearest coffee cart. They walked in a comfortable silence while Callie studied Mark's face, she could always tell when he'd had a shitty night.

"You look like crap" Callie commented with a faint smile on her face, she knew that she probably didn't look any better after doing a 38 hour shift.

"I feel like crap" Mark answered, ordering his coffee he turned his attention back to Callie, "she came to my hotel room last night and we talked…"

"Good for you, communicating is a good thing Mark" Callie reassured him while taking her coffee, "he's paying" Callie informed the young girl and walked away.

Mark shook his head with a smirk, handing over a ten dollar bill he went after Callie with his own coffee. "She's taking a step back, giving me some space to figure things out in my own head before I try jumping into a relationship head first without even thinking…"

"Woah, wait a minute did Mark Sloan just say the R word" Callie teased with a playful grin.

Mark shook his head while gently nudging Callie in the arm; he was trying not to smile at her joke. "I know it sounds insane but I'm crazy about her, I could…I could even see myself falling in love with her" Mark finally admitted out loud.

He had been terrified of acknowledging that thought whether it was in public or just to himself, the thought of falling love with Lexie Grey wasn't what scared him. What scared him was the idea of hurting her, of screwing this up so badly that she'd never want to see him again.

"Mark this is a good thing" Callie reassured him, she could see that now was not the time to be making jokes about his track record. Mark needed his person, he needed Callie to tell him that he could do this and she had no doubt that he could. "_You can do this_" Callie emphasised with an encouraging smile.

"Yeah well like I said she's taking a step back, so until I have things sorted out we're going to be completely and utterly professional towards each other" Mark sighed. While he was grateful that Lexie understood where he was coming from it still didn't mean that Mark wasn't a little bit disappointed.

Callie couldn't help but smile, "I knew she was a smart girl but I didn't realise just how smart. I guess her little talk with Addison actually helped" Callie commented.

Mark froze in his spot, "Lexie spoke to Addison" Mark asked as the fear slowly began to creep its way through.

Callie knew the tell tale signs of a Mark Sloan freak out, she walked back over to Mark and put her hand on his shoulder. Giving it a comforting squeeze Callie looked Mark squarely in the eyes, "before you go running back to your office to call Addison and give her the riot act you should know that she was only trying to help" Callie explained.

She could feel the tension in Mark's body slowly begin to fade so she let go of his shoulder, "besides by the way Addison was talking she whole heartedly approves of Lexie…I think you could even go one step further and say that if Addison had stuck around they might of even become friends" Callie suggested.

Mark began to shake his head incessantly, "my ex-girlfriend and my…my Lexie are not friends nor shall they ever _be _friends to do you understand me Torres" Mark warned with a glaring look.

Callie couldn't help it, she had tried to hold on to some sense of self-control but the petrified look on Mark's face was just too hard to resist, she was laughing so hard that she actually managed to spill some of her coffee. "What are you going to do…forbid them from being friends?" Callie asked sarcastically.

"Yes" Mark answered bluntly, walking away from Callie with every intention of going straight back to his office so he could have a little chat with Addison.

"Woah Mark slow down, Mark" Callie hissed trying to run after him without spilling her coffee all over herself.

Mark ignored Callie's plea to slow down and turned the corner, Callie sighed in frustration and paused long enough to throw her coffee in the bin. Once she had freed herself of the hot liquid she bolted down the corridor, finally catching him on the elevator.

"Don't be an idiot" Callie blurted out without even thinking.

Mark jabbed at the button indicating that he wanted to go to the fifth floor, "now I'm being an idiot" Mark stated with a scoff.

"In this case yes you are" Callie answered with a glaring look and her arms crossed over chest. "They're grown women Mark, they can be friends with whoever they want and besides…Addison is in _L.A._ Mark not in Seattle. You have nothing to worry about, not that there is even if Addison was here" Callie tried to reason with him.

Mark shook his head, "I can't afford to have those two talking to each other" Mark stated with a threatening glare.

Callie shook her head and before she could even stop herself she took a step closer towards Mark and smacked him up the back side of his head. "While you're sorting stuff out in that puny little head of yours why don't you get Derek to _examine _it as well" Callie suggested. "Because I'm seriously beginning to think that there isn't anything up there except for maybe a few cobwebs".

"Now was that nice" Mark snapped; he didn't need a lecture from Callie right now.

Callie sighed in disbelief at the man; she couldn't understand how inside the O.R. Mark could be the most confident person on earth yet in the real world he was just like everyone else.

"Mark listen to yourself, you're talking about giving Addison an earful for trying to make Lexie understand that you are a good guy and that there is nothing going on between the two of you" Callie tried to reason. "Now does that sound like something a _sane _person would do?" she questioned.

"No" Mark pouted; he knew that Callie was right…Callie was always right but all of this was so new to him and Mark didn't have a clue what he was doing. "But what if Addison manages to convince Lexie that I'm no good for her?" Mark asked sheepishly, he knew that it was a ridiculous question because Addison would never do that but the fear was still there.

Callie shook her head, "Addison would never do that Mark, she wants you to be happy" Callie reassured him.

Mark let out a breath he didn't even realised he was holding in, and with it he let go of all the anxiety and all the panic that had been building up inside of him. "I really am damaged goods" Mark stated with a pathetic laugh.

"No you're not, maybe a little bit confused and a little bit lost, but you're not damaged Mark. You just need to talk some stuff out and whether it's with me or with Lexie or with anyone else,, you need to do this Mark. It'll be good for you, it'll give you the chance to get everything out in the open because you can't keep going on like this…you need to learn to let people in" Callie tried to reason with him just as the elevator doors opened.

Certain that she had managed to divert the crisis Callie stepped off of the elevator, giving Mark a reassuring smile before heading back towards the ER.

**************

Mark sighed as he aimlessly wondered the halls of the hospital; he couldn't stop thinking about what Callie had said to him on the elevator. He knew that Callie was right….he knew that he really did need to talk to _someone_ about all the stuff going on inside his head but he just wasn't sure who.

Mark stopped in his tracks when he spotted Meredith standing in front of the surgical board studying it, an idea slowly began to form in his mind but it was a crazy plan.

A plan that Mark wasn't even sure he wanted to contemplate, but on the other hand he wanted…_needed_ to fix this, to fix him. Because if he didn't he was pretty sure that Lexie would get tired of waiting around for Mark to pull himself together.

Mark hesitantly walked over to Meredith and stood next to her, he studied her face as he tried to gage her mood. Early on Mark realised that he and Meredith weren't so different, that they had both been scarred by their own parents…but more importantly they were both careful about letting people in, about trusting people.

"Are you better?" Mark asked softly.

"What?" Meredith asked with a frown on her face as she turned her attention way from the board and over to Mark.

"You know with your therapy? Or…whatever. You said you got well. Well, are you…better? Or are you just fake better?" Mark asked rambled on, trying to avoid eye contact with Meredith.

"What do you mean?" Meredith asked with a serious voice, she could see that Mark wasn't trying to play one of his usual games but that didn't mean that she had a clue what he was talking about.

Mark sighed in frustration; he should have known that Meredith wasn't going to make this easy on him. Since when has Meredith Grey ever known how to do _easy_ Mark thought. "I'm asking you if people…you know. I mean, are you really different? I mean do you feel different?" Mark questioned, this time looking Meredith straight in the eye.

Meredith gently smiled at Mark, at first she had been hesitant about the man and wasn't sure what Derek saw in him to consider him his best friend. But Meredith was quickly beginning to learn that Mark was just like the rest of them, scared and unsure about where his life was headed.

"I'm getting married" Meredith declared with a proud smile on her face, "me, Meredith Grey, child of darkness…or at least that's how Izzie put it, found someone. I stopped running; I stopped avoiding…so yeah I am happy and no I'm not fake better, I'm just better" Meredith answered Mark.

"Good" Mark answered because that was all he could really of think to say. He didn't know what he was expecting to hear from Meredith but something told him that it was close enough to what he had wanted to hear, whatever that was.

"Did Derek put you up to this?" Meredith asked, eyeing Mark suspiciously because the two men had a tendency to plot schemes and Meredith didn't like it one little bit when they started behaving all sneaky.

"Derek has no idea I'm even talking to you" Mark answered before quickly walking away; he didn't want to give Meredith the opportunity to ask anymore questions.

Mark took a deep breath as he stepped onto the elevator; he finally found a solution to his problem…a way to deal with everything without feeling like he was burdening anyone.

Now if he could only find the guts to step up and actually do it, Mark's finger froze only a few inches away from the button that needed to be pressed. He thought for a millisecond that it wasn't too late to back out of this, to just pretend like none of this never happened and tell Lexie that she should keep on moving because he wasn't about to change.

But that option included Lexie moving on, of seeing other men and laughing and talking to other men…along with other stuff that Mark really didn't want to be picturing in his head.

And suddenly the option of running no longer became an option at all and Mark began pressing the button incessantly, as though if he didn't get to where he needed to be soon he was going to run out of time.

**************

"Dr. Sloan did you take a wrong turn?" she asked cautiously with a gentle smile on her face, returning to her office to see Mark Sloan standing in the middle of it was a surprise to say the least.

"Just looking around" Mark answered, waving his arm around the room.

She eyed him suspiciously but continued to walk over to her desk; setting her cup of tea onto the table she turned her attention to Mark. "Dr. Sloan some how I find it hard to believe that you came all the way up here to admire my collection of African artefacts" she pointed out, carefully pulling a small figurine out of Mark's hand and setting it back down onto the table.

Mark shook his head in disbelief, he couldn't believe that he was dumb enough to think that this could actually work…even she didn't believe that he was genuine about this.

"I think you're right" Mark agreed with her, realising that this wasn't the solution he needed after all. "I think I did make a wrong turn" Mark stated before turning to leave.

"Dr. Sloan" she called out softly, leaning against her desk she pointed towards the chair across from her offering it to Mark. Doctors came to her when they needed someone to speak to, and Mark clearly needed that. But she had also learnt early on that pushing the matter was never going to get someone to open up quicker.

Mark shook his head and left her office, about halfway down the corridor Mark stopped walking. He realised that he was doing what he always did…things had gotten uncomfortable for him back in there so he ran. Mark sighed in frustration, which was exactly what he was trying to fix, he didn't want to be running anymore.

Besides if Meredith could learn to stop running than so could he, and with that thought Mark turned around and walked back to her office.

"Dr. Wyatt" Mark called out softly, leaning against the door frame he watched the woman who was sitting at her desk.

"You came back" she pointed out with a smile on her face, leaning back into her chair she took her glasses off and threw them onto the table.

Mark licked his lips nervously, he hadn't really thought past convincing himself to walk back into the room. And now that he had he had no idea what to say or where to begin, talking about what he was feeling and thinking was something that Mark tried to avoid doing at all costs.

Dr. Wyatt studied Mark's body language, she was a trained psychologist…she was trained to be able to read not only what people said but also how they acted.

Mark was clearly new to all of this, and she clearly knew that he needed to be eased into this. She couldn't help but smile because it was scary how alike Mark Sloan was acting to the way Meredith had been when she first came to see her.

Mark thought about what he wanted to say, how he wanted to get the ball rolling but there was a small part of him that still wasn't sure this was what he wanted to be doing.

Suddenly Mark felt like a light bulb had gone off in his head as an idea begun to form on its own. "I have this friend" Mark stated cautiously as he walked into the room.

"A friend" Dr. Wyatt repeated with a serious face, she was trying to hide a smile because she knew exactly what Mark was doing.

"Yeah a friend he's…he's having a few problems and I was just wondering if there was anything I could do to try and help him" Mark explained.

He sat down on the edge of the couch and nervously began bouncing his right foot up and down as he awaited her answer.

"What sort of problems?" Dr. Wyatt asked as she rose from her chair and sat down in the armchair across from Mark.

"He has this tendency to self-destruct whenever things are going good in his life and he can recognise the fact that he's doing these things…but he doesn't how to stop" Mark answered.

He was trying to keep up the façade as though they weren't talking about him; he knew that Dr. Wyatt could probably see straight through him but for now it was the only way he could find the courage to talk.

"What do you think about this _friend_" Dr. Wyatt asked, it was always the words that we _didn't_ say that revealed more about an individual than what we did say.

Mark shrugged his shoulders, being critical of himself in his own head was one thing but voicing those opinions out loud was an entirely different story. "He went to see this therapist once, the 400 dollar an hour shrink said that it's because behind his rugged and confident exterior he was self-destructive and self-loathing to an almost pathological degree" Mark answered.

Dr. Wyatt nodded her head at Mark's rather clinical answer, "that's all well and good Dr. Sloan but that wasn't the question that I asked you. I asked what _you_ thoughtabout your _friend_".

Mark sighed as he leant forward and begun bouncing his right leg up and down again nervously, "there has to be something wrong with him doesn't there?" Mark answered her question with a question.

"Why would you say that?" Dr. Wyatt asked; answering a question with a question was a rather common tool people used to avoid a question that they really didn't want to answer.

Mark groaned as she quickly began to close in on him and force the words out of his mouth, Mark felt like he couldn't breathe properly…like he was trapped and had no way out. He jumped up off the couch and began pacing up and down the room in front of the door. He was part trying to decide how to answer her question and part trying to figure out how to make an escape.

"Dr. Sloan why do you think that there has to be something wrong with this _friend _of yours?" Dr. Wyatt repeated her question; procrastination was also another popular form of diversion amongst the employees she had seen from the hospital.

"Because he slept with his best friend's wife" Mark exclaimed as he threw his hands up in the air, "what _normal _person would do something like that?" Mark questioned the psychologist.

Dr. Wyatt shook her head, "I don't know, why do _you _think he did it?" she asked casually as though the admission Mark had just made was no big deal.

"Because he's self-destructive, he knew what he was doing. He knew what it would do to his friendship with Der…with his best friend yet he didn't stop" Mark argued, he had that very thought burned into his memory.

Dr. Wyatt leant forward and looked at Mark seriously yet sympathetically, hoping that he would listen to what she had to say. "People make mistakes, its human nature…nobody's perfect but, if you ask me, it seems that your _friend's _off to a god start. He's willing to admit that he has a problem; he's willing to get the help he needs so he can get a second chance and that's all we can ever really ask for" Dr. Wyatt asserted softly and encouragingly.

Their conversation was cut short by the sound of Mark's pager going off and he had to stop himself from jumping up and down in excitement. It nerved him how much Dr. Wyatt's comment got to Mark and he felt like he needed to get out right then and there.

"I have to go" Mark stated and began to leave.

"Dr. Sloan" Dr. Wyatt called out, "I'm free on Friday afternoon at 2pm…if your _friend's_ interested in having a little chat". Mark nodded his head with a solemn look on his face, "I'll let him know" he answered before quickly leaving the room to deal with whatever emergency was awaiting him in the E.R.

**************

"Hey Dr. Sloan" Arizona greeted Mark a bit too cheerfully for his liking, sliding in to the bar stool next to Mark she waved at Joe to indicate she wanted her regular drink.

Mark shook his head in disbelief, "god I hope you're not this cheerful in the mornings" Mark stated looking down at his half drunk scotch.

"Of course I am silly" Arizona answered asked with a bright smile on her face, "I'm an everyday kind of person".

"How does Torres put up with you" Mark asked in disbelief, "I mean don't get me wrong I like you and I think you're good for her…but sometimes your level of cheerfulness is just a little bit too much" Mark stated.

Arizona rolled her eyes while she shook her head at Mark, "trust me once you learn to appreciate life you'll be just as happy and cheerful as I am" Arizona reassured him.

Mark choked on his drink, while he had been debating with himself all day on whether or not it had been a good idea to go and see Dr. Wyatt, _and _whether he should go back, he didn't even want to think about turning into Arizona.

He didn't want to become happy and smiley to _that_ extent, but that wasn't the only reason he was hesitating. Mark was worried that it would somehow get out to the rest of the hospital that he was seeing Dr. Wyatt, and Mark was worried that people would start to look at him differently.

"Arizona I like you because you speak your mind, and despite the fact that Callie and I are best friends you don't feel the need to sugar coat everything you say just to make sure that I like you…you call things the way you see them" Mark pointed out.

"Uh thank you I guess" Arizona answered cautiously, she wasn't really sure where this was coming from.

"Arizona can I ask you a question?" Mark asked but didn't actually wait for her to answer, "do you think a person's weak if they…you know get help?" Mark asked hesitantly.

"What kind of help are we talking about here exactly?" Arizona asked; she wasn't the kind of person to answer a question without having all the facts.

"You know…the psychological kind" Mark muttered under his breath, he couldn't believe that he was admitting this out loud.

Arizona had to lean closer so she could actually hear Mark's answer but she managed to catch the answer. Pulling herself back Arizona sighed and took a sip of her drink, studying her glass for a few seconds Arizona thought about that question.

"If I tell you something can you promise me that you won't tell Calliope" Arizona warned Mark with a tiny glare.

"That depends on what it is and how bad it is" Mark answered bluntly.

Arizona nodded her head; she had to give Mark that point. She knew that he would never keep anything from Callie, especially if it affected her.

"My brother used to be in army, he enlisted and was deployed out to Iraq…about a year ago he was killed" Arizona revealed with a fond smile on her face as remembered her brother.

"I'm sorry" Mark apologised.

Arizona shook her head, she wasn't telling Mark this to make him feel sorry for her. She was telling Mark this to try and make him understand that asking for help wasn't weak in her opinion.

"I broke down after, after my brother was brought home and we buried him I broke down. I couldn't eat, I couldn't sleep…sometimes I couldn't even breathe let alone function on a daily basis. So I locked myself up and tried to hide from the world" Arizona explained. She was trying really hard not to cry at the memory of it all.

"My parents were grieving for their son and I wasn't making their lives any easier, they needed their daughter for support and all I could do was lie in bed all day. Then one morning I decided that that I needed help, that if I was going to get past my brother's death then I needed to admit that there was a problem" Arizona carried on.

"So what did you do?" Mark asked curiously.

"I went to see a therapist, at first I was uncomfortable with the idea of talking to a complete stranger. But once I got past my fears it turned to be the best thing I could have done for me _and _my parents. That's why I'm always this cheerful…it's my way of remembering my brother and staying strong for my parents" Arizona explained.

She felt the need to explain to Mark that she wasn't naturally this cheerful and chirpy woman who felt the need to smile all the time.

Mark nodded his head in understanding, while he didn't want to become as happy and smiley as Arizona he did want to move forward. He wanted the chance to be the kid of man that Lexie needed.

"To talking things out" Mark toasted, holding his glass out to Arizona.

Arizona smiled at Mark as she clinked her glass against Mark's, "to talking things through" she toasted before they both took a sip of their drinks.

**************

**Reviews welcomed, I really do appreciate feedback :-) **


	6. You Have No Other Option

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**You Have No Other Option**

Callie was minding her own business as she walked down the corridors of Seattle Grace when she noticed Lexie leaning against the nurses' station with a newspaper spread out in front of her and a red marker in her mouth.

"Grey what are you doing?" Callie asked with a raised eyebrow.

It had been a little over a week since she and Mark had talked about Lexie and Callie had promised herself that she'd ease up on Lexie and get to know the Intern.

She was Mark's best…well equal best friend and she owed it to Mark to give Lexie a chance, but even though Callie wouldn't admit it to anyone she knew that Lexie had already won her over.

Lexie jumped at the sound of Callie's voice, looking over her shoulder at Callie she sighed in relief as she pressed her hand against her chest. "Dr. Torres you scared the hell out of me, I thought you were the Chief or _worse_ Dr. Bailey".

Callie couldn't help but let out a small giggle at Lexie's comment about Bailey being scarier then the Chief. "So what are you doing?" Callie repeated the question.

Lexie looked down at the paper in front of her and back up at Callie, "I'm trying to find a place to live...you know being 24 and living at home with my parents wasn't exactly something I had in mind. But with an Intern's salary everything seems to be out of my price range" Lexie sighed.

"Well happy hunting" Callie offered before she began to walk away. She had managed to get half way down the corridor before she turned on her heel and reluctantly walked back over to Lexie.

"I have a room" Callie declared bluntly.

"Uh, um excuse me" Lexie stuttered, despite working at the hospital for nearly two months now she still wasn't entirely comfortable around authority figures…well everyone except Mark.

Callie rolled her eyes, it was the best solution she could come up with for the both of them and now Lexie was going to make it difficult.

"Yang's decided to bunk with Hunt so she's moving out, and with my dad taking away my trust fund from me for dating Arizona…" Callie trailed, looking at Lexie sceptically. "And you didn't need to know that so why I told you all of that is beyond me" Callie pointed out.

"Uh Dr. Torres do you have point to this?" Lexie asked cautiously, she didn't want to piss off the woman who was the best friend of the man who was her…well Lexie didn't really know _what _she and Mark were but she knew that it was something.

"My point is that with Yang gone I can't _afford_ the apartment on my own and you _need_ a place to live so if you want it the rooms yours" Callie offered casually, like offering Lexie a place to live was no big deal.

"Oh um…" Lexie trailed, the shock of Callie's offer made it hard fro her to find the words she needed. "Um…shouldn't you be asking Dr. Robbins, I mean are you sure you don't want her to take the room?"

Callie shook her head, "Arizona and I are great and we're happy, really happy but we're not at that stage where we're ready to live together…besides I like my place and she likes hers".

"I'm sorry if this sounds rude but why me" Lexie asked bluntly, the last thing she'd figure her boss would want to be doing is to live with an Intern.

Callie shrugged her shoulders, "because Mark's my best friend and you….well you're something to him, but right now you're the woman who's convinced Mark that he can be a better man. You're helping Mark slowly become the man I always knew he could be, so the least I can do is put a roof over your head" Callie explained.

Lexie's throat suddenly felt dry because other than Mark she hadn't really had a lot of people say nice things about her since starting at the hospital. "Should I be running this by Mark?" Lexie asked sceptically.

Callie giggled as she shook her head, "_no"_ she emphasised. "If you ask Mark for permission now then he's going to think that he's the boss of the relationship and trust me you do not want Mark having all the power…his heads big enough as it is" Callie teased and both women laughed at her joke.

There conversation was cut short by the sound of Lexie's pager, looking down at the page she groaned in frustration while collecting her things.

"Problem?" Callie asked with a sympathetic smile, she could still remember the horrors of being an Intern.

"Yes" Lexie sighed, "its Mark's stupid patient. The man is relentless and won't take no for answer" Lexie explained.

"Meaning…." Callie trailed because she didn't want to make her own assumptions.

"Meaning every time I'm alone with him he has to make some sort of remark about how going out on a date with him would be the best decision I ever made or he tries to find some way to touch my hand" Lexie answered.

"You should tell Mark, he'll deal with it" Callie suggested.

Lexie scoffed at Callie's attempt to find a solution to her problem, "and would Mark would deal with it as the man's doctor or as my…." Lexie paused.

She didn't know how to finish that sentence and it was starting to irritate her, it was the second time today she had tried to define what her and Mark were exactly and she couldn't.

"You know what you're right, bad idea just ignore me" Callie joked. "I'm gonna go find Yang and let her know that she needs to give you her set of keys" Callie declared, deciding that the discussion of Lexie moving in was over and done with it.

Lexie smiled and nodded her head, "uh okay, but when can I start moving in?" Lexie asked.

"Yang's clearing out the rest of her stuff tonight so tomorrow night's fine with me, besides I'll be working late so you'll have the place to yourself" Callie informed her before walking away.

Lexie couldn't help but smile because things were quickly beginning to look up for her.

**************

"So have you started looking?" Arizona asked with a wide smile.

"Looking?" Callie repeated dubiously.

"Yeah for a new roommate" Arizona answered, looking over at Mark and Derek for any sign that she had said the wrong thing.

"Yang's moving out?" Derek asked; he was surprised that Meredith hadn't mentioned anything.

"Yeah she's moving out of the apartment" Callie confirmed to Derek.

"Well good for you" Derek stated with a smile.

"Don't get too happy Shepherd, Yang's moving in with you" Mark teased while trying not to laugh; he couldn't resist having a go at Derek.

Derek's smile immediately disappeared, "she's not moving in with me" Derek protested before turning to Callie for confirmation, "Yang's not moving in with me right Torres?"

Callie rolled her eyes at the two five year olds, "relax she's moving with Hunt" Callie explained to Derek.

Mark shook his head, "poor bastard" he joked.

"So you found someone?" Arizona asked again, the topic was getting off track.

"Yeah Lexie Grey's moving in" Callie answered like it wasn't that big of a deal.

Mark's head immediately snapped up at hearing what Callie had just announced, he was struggling not to show too much interest in a conversation that revolved around Lexie.

Along with deciding to take things slow so Mark could have some time to work things out they had also agreed to keep it just between them, well them and Callie.

Mark didn't want his relationship with Lexie to become the new topic of the rumour mill or to become to new Derek and Meredith. So besides sometimes getting in little glances at one another when the other one wasn't looking they tried to remain as professional as possible.

By the time Mark snapped out of his own little world Derek and Arizona had already left and Callie was standing beside Mark, waiting for him to come back to reality.

"Lexie's moving in with you" Mark repeated again in disbelief.

Callie rolled her eyes because she could see Mark was about to start freaking out, "would you relax ok, she needs a place to live and I need somebody who can help pay the rent. It's a win, win situation for all of us" Callie explained to Mark.

"How do you figure that, how do you figure that my best friend and my…my, little Grey living together is the best situation?" Mark asked in disbelief.

"Because now with me and Lexie living together you can use me as an excuse, you can come over to my place a lot more often without it looking all stalker Esk like" Callie reasoned with Mark.

"I still don't like it" Mark grumbled.

"To bad, learn to live with it" Callie answered flatly like what Mark wanted didn't matter while walking away.

Mark sighed, he was trying really hard to do what Lexie had asked of him…to take the time to work things out in his head but he was struggling with it. Everyday became a battle of self-control for Mark because it took everything inside of him to not drag Lexie into the nearest on-call room, and it didn't help that Lexie was constantly being assigned to his services.

Mark was again dragged away from his thoughts as he heard Lexie's voice, _speak of the devil_ Mark thought to himself with a smirk on his face.

"Dr. Bailey I need to be re-assigned to someone else's services" Lexie declared with an annoyed look.

Mark frowned as he heard what Lexie had announced to Dr. Bailey, when Dr. Bailey showed up Mark had no idea.

"I'm not your Resident" Dr. Bailey pointed out.

Lexie sighed in frustration, "I know that Dr. Bailey but you're my boss' boss and my Resident's seemed to abandon me so I had no where else to go" Lexie explained.

"If you have a problem with your patient then take it up with the Attending in charge" Dr. Bailey answered bluntly.

Lexie looked over at Mark who was standing at the other end of the nurses' station, she gave him a quick but sweet smile before Dr. Bailey noticed anything.

"The patient's insisting that he wants another doctor other than me on his case" Lexie explained.

"Why what did you do?" Dr. Bailey asked, taking her eyes off of the chart and looking at Lexie for the first time.

"Nothing, I didn't do anything…"

"But" Dr. Bailey interrupted her.

"But the patient got it in his head that he's…he's interested" Lexie answered cryptically.

Mark frowned as he listened to Lexie explain to Dr. Bailey why she couldn't work with him for the rest of the day. He didn't need Lexie to explain any more, he understood exactly what she meant and along with his understanding came an unexplainable wave of jealousy.

He had this sudden urge to barge into his patient's room and explain to the man that he was to stop making passes at Lexie's because she was his…she belonged to him and that the guy could get whatever he was thinking out of his head before Mark did some permanent damage.

Mark knew that it was insane to feel like that and very irrational, but he had never felt like that before. Even when he and Addison had been sneaking around behind Derek he had never felt a level of jealous like this when he watched the two of them together.

"He's interested in what?" Dr. Bailey asked.

Lexie sighed in frustration because apparently Dr. Bailey wasn't going to make it easy on her, "in _me_" Lexie emphasised. "The patient kept making a pass at me and when I explained to him that nothing could happen because I was his doctor and he was my patient he demanded that I be taken off his case. Apparently he seems to think that if I'm not his doctor then I'd be open to the idea of having dinner with him" Lexie explained all in one breath.

The whole time she was explaining things to Dr. Bailey Lexie had kept one eye on Mark, watching his reaction for any subtle hints that she should be worried for the patient's well being.

But despite her efforts Lexie couldn't help but feel a ball of butterflies flutter in her stomach as she spotted Mark's hand curl up into a fist at hearing the idea of her having dinner with his patient.

She knew it was wrong but she liked seeing Mark get territorial over her…it meant that he was still interested in her and that whatever it was that was going on between them wasn't just in her head.

"Didn't you think to just tell him that you have a big strong, mean, possessive boyfriend who would have an issue with you dating other men" Dr. Bailey asked in disbelief.

"No why would I?" Lexie asked in confusion. The thought had crossed her mind to use Mark as an excuse, but she was worried how Mark would react to her referring to him as her boyfriend…especially when putting a name to whatever it was that this thing is with Mark seemed to be a difficult task.

"Fine" Dr. Bailey sighed in defeat, "go find Dr. Hunt and tell him that you're swapping services with whichever Intern he has" Dr. Bailey ordered. She paused to look at Mark to make sure that he wasn't about to protest, when Mark didn't say a word Dr. Bailey nodded her head and walked away.

The instant she was out of sight Mark immediately walked over to Lexie, completely forgetting about his work, and smiled at her like an over zealous little boy.

"Why didn't you?" he heard himself ask before he could stop the words from coming out of his mouth.

"Why didn't I what?" Lexie repeated cautiously.

"Why didn't you tell Mr. Brekett that you have an over protective boyfriend who would have beaten the crap out of him" Mark asked bluntly, he could feel his heart beating faster as he waited for Lexie's answer.

"Do I?" Lexie asked hesitantly while trying not to smile in excitement.

"Don't you?" Mark answered Lexie's question with a question defensively.

Lexie ran her hands through her air as she sighed in frustration, "this is the third time today that I've had to try and define what this is" Lexie's grumbled waving her hand back and forth between them, "but I can't…I mean is that what you are, are you my boyfriend?"

Mark shrugged his shoulders, he hadn't really been expecting that question and deep down he had been having trouble trying to answer that question himself.

"I'm sorry" Lexie quickly apologised, "I don't want you to feel like I'm trying to push you or that I'm getting inpatient waiting for you because I'm not" Lexie wanted to reassure Mark. "I'm happy to wait for as long as you need me to, it's just frustrating some times".

Without giving himself the chance to over analyse it Mark look around to make sure that the coast was clear before grabbing Lexie's hand and dragging her into the nearest on-call room.

The second Mark closed the door Lexie was quickly pinned up against the door; with Mark's body pressed up against hers Lexie could feel her heart beating faster than it should have been.

"Mark" Lexie whispered but was instantly silenced with Mark's lips which came crashing down onto hers. Letting out a small moan in delight Lexie wrapped her arms around Mark's neck and pulled him in closer.

Her mind turned into a ball of haze as the sensation of Mark's lips against her skin completely overtook Lexie, she couldn't think past how right it felt.

Mark knew that he should have pulled away, that kissing Lexie could only lead to trouble for them right now but it seemed what Mark's mind and body wanted were two completely different things.

His intentions for pulling Lexie into an on-call room wasn't to try and sleep with her, Mark had only done it so that they could talk more privately but the second he heard Lexie say his name all logic went out the window went.

It seemed Mark's body had a mind of its own as his lips quickly trailed along her jaw line until his warm lips gently kissed her neck; Lexie stretched her head back to encourage him to keep going.

Lexie couldn't help but giggle at the feeling of Mark's beard rubbing against her cheek and it was enough to snap Mark out of it before he let things get too carried away. When he pulled his lips gently away from hers Lexie leaned in to reclaim them but Mark tilted his head back and made eye contact.

Mark groaned in frustration and leant in towards Lexie, with their lips only inches apart he could hear Lexie's heart beating faster. "Why is it that my self-control seems to go out the window whenever I'm around you?" Mark growled.

A small gentle smile graced her lips as Lexie stroked his face, "losing control isn't necessarily a bad thing" Lexie whispered as she leant in to kiss Mark.

Mark quickly pulled away and shook his head, "Yes it is. It's a dangerous thing…especially when I'm around you".

"Then why did you drag me in here" Lexie sighed, she wasn't going to try and push her luck by going in for another kiss. Lexie had promised to give Mark his space and this definitely wasn't sticking to her word.

"Because I needed to make one thing clear" Mark answered, "just because we aren't sleeping together doesn't mean that you get to go looking for a better option…you have no more options" Mark growled seductively in her ear. "You can call me whatever you want…boyfriend, partner, significant other, I don't care as long as you understand that you're mine".

Lexie could feel the desire and the need that she felt for Mark surge through her body at hearing him claim her as his own. She bit down on her bottom lip to try and stop her face from burning bright read, not to mention to try and keep some semblance of self-control.

"Should I be concerned for Mr. Brekett's welfare" Lexie whispered teasingly while gently stroking his arm.

"If he keeps making a pass at you he might have something to worry about" Mark answered with a look of disgust on his face.

Lexie giggled, she stood up on her tip toes and kissed Mark quickly on the lips before he even noticed it. "Well I'm afraid you can't keep me locked up in here all day, I actually have to go and find Dr. Hunt to do doctoring things" Lexie pointed out with a cheeky smile.

"Says who?" Mark asked like a two year old.

"Say's Dr. Bailey" Lexie answered as she quickly managed to break free from Mark's embrace and run out the door. But not even a second later Lexie ducked her head back in to the room and looked at Mark, "just so you know I've stoped looking for other options, as far as I'm concerned my only option is standing right in front of me" Lexie declared with a seductive grin before quickly leaving again.

Mark took a step back and growled while scrubbing his face in frustration, if Mark was certain of one thing it was that Lexie Grey was going to be the death of him...but Mark was pretty sure that he couldn't think of a better way to go.

**************

**Reviews welcomed, I really do appreciate feedback :-) **


	7. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow

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**Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but soon**

"So how's the new apartment?" Mark asked with an innocent smile.

While they had managed to completely avoid each other neither of them could stop thinking about it.

It took all of Mark's will power not to hit his patient who had repeatedly kept asking him about Lexie, and as if that wasn't bad enough going to sleep had been completely out of the question.

Every time Mark had closed his eyes to try and get some sleep his mind would replay their little moment in the on-call room over and over again, it was torturing him to the point of insanity and he knew that he only had himself to blame.

"It's great, really great" Lexie answered in excitement, she was more than grateful to finally have a place of her own. She had managed to move all her stuff into Callie's apartment all in one night, now it just matter of unpacking the boxes.

"That's good, really good" Mark stated awkwardly, he was finding it increasingly difficult to actually find something to say when his eyes continued to wander to Lexie's lips.

Lexie didn't need to be a psychic to know what he was thinking; she could tell just by the way Mark was looking at her that he was having as much success as she was trying not to think about that kiss.

"Do you want to come over for dinner?" Lexie asked without even thinking, she began to panic the second she heard the words come out of her mouth.

Mark stammered as he tried to find something to say to Lexie's dinner invite, his first instinct was to answer yes. But there was a part of him that was certain being alone with Lexie was definitely a _bad _idea, especially after what had happened last time.

Lexie could see the uncertainty in Mark's eyes and quickly tried to think of something to explain her sudden request. Lexie didn't want Mark to feel like he was being backed in to a corner with no way out or that she was trying to manipulate him.

"Or not" Lexie offered casually,"I was only asking because I've offered to cook Dr. Torres and Dr. Robbins dinner tonight as a thankyou for giving me a place to live" Lexie lied.

Mark felt his entire body relax at hearing the fact that Callie and Arizona would be there, at least with Callie there she'd make sure that Mark was on his best behaviour.

"Dinner sounds great" Mark accepted Lexie's invitation with a sincere smile.

"Great, our place at 7pm" Lexie instructed Mark, she quickly walked away before she had a chance of saying anything else. "Crap, crap, crap" Lexie screamed in her head as she ran down the corridor like a mad woman in search of Callie.

**************

"Dr. Torres" Lexie gasped, hunched over, and trying to catch her breath. She had been searching everywhere for her new roommate in case Mark had gotten to her first and mentioned the non-existent dinner.

"Grey you ok there?" Callie asked with a weird look on her face.

"You two need to be home for dinner tonight" Lexie explained as she pointed back and forth between Callie and Arizona.

Callie scoffed while shaking her head adamantly, "we have reservations" she argued.

"Cancel them" Lexie ordered with a pleading look on her face, "_please_" she begged with a sweet smile and her hands clasped together.

"Why?" Callie asked, she was willing to consider it if Lexie could give her a good enough reason why she should be spending her night off at home.

Lexie sighed in embarrassment, "because I asked Mark over to dinner without thinking it through first and I kind of told him that you'd be there" Lexie explained hesitantly.

Callie rolled her eyes in disbelief, "will you two do me a favour and just have sex already".

Arizona giggled at Callie's comment despite not understanding why Lexie was making such a big deal about asking Mark over for dinner.

"Please tell me that you're going to be there…I'll be cooking so you won't have to do a thing?" Lexie tried to bribe Callie and Arizona.

Callie sighed in defeat, after everything Mark had done for her…after everything he had helped her through Callie knew that she owed this to Mark.

"Do you mind?" Callie asked Arizona with a smile.

Arizona shook her heard with an even perkier smile on her face, "of course not, besides it's been awhile since I've had a home cooked meal" Arizona reassured Callie.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you" Lexie repeated profusely, "make sure you're home by 7" Lexie ordered as she quickly ran off to the E.R. because she was already running late.

Arizona laughed at the eccentric behaviour that Lexie demonstrated sometimes, it was sweet and endearing. "Do you want to explain to me what that was all about?"

Shaking her head Callie held her hand up at Arizona, "trust me you don't want to know…it can only lead to no good" Callie promised her girlfriend.

"Well I think it's going to be nice having dinner with your roommate and your best friend, it'll give me a chance to really get to know them" Arizona reassured her with a genuine smile.

Callie scoffed at Arizona's comment, "I dare you to say that again _after_ you've had dinner with Mark and Lexie".

**************

"Dr. Grey" Mark greeted Lexie with a sly smile on his face; Mark really didn't like it when Lexie was assigned to anyone other than him.

"Dr. Sloan" Lexie greeted Mark with a relaxed smile, she could breathe easier around Mark knowing that she didn't have to lie to him about dinner.

"You paged me little Grey?" Mark asked, standing as close as possible to Lexie without it looking suspicious in the middle of the ER.

Lexie couldn't help but smile as she prepared to explain to Mark _why _he had been paged, she knew how much Mark hated getting weird cases. "You're patient, Dylan Collins, decided that he wanted to get his nose pierced…"

"So take the earring out, clean up the infection and tell him not to get it wet for the next 24 hours" Mark answered robotically while trying to ignore the disappointment that was quickly consuming him.

"You didn't let me finish" Lexie scolded him with a playful glare.

"Alright then Dr. Grey what is it exactly that I've missed?" Mark asked playfully; but he could see by the way Lexie was looking at him that whatever it was he was missing he wasn't going to be happy about it.

"He pierced his own nose…with a _nail gun_, the nail is still in his nose" Lexie declared with a cocky grin.

Mark shook his head while scrubbing his face in frustration, "great now I have to waste my time operating on the moron who thought it would be _smart _to staple his own nose" Mark growled. He really hated dealing with patients who were hurt because of there own stupidity.

He leaned in closer to Lexie, anyone who walked by would think that he was simply trying to get a look at the chart she was holding, "you want to scrub in?" Mark whispered in her ear.

The feeling of Mark's breath against her neck sent a shiver down Lexie's spine; with her eyes closed Lexie smiled fondly as she replayed that kiss in her mind again.

Mark knew what was running through Lexie's mind just by looking at the smile on her face; Mark couldn't help but feel proud that he could do that to her.

"Dr. Grey do you need a minute alone" Mark whispered in her ear with a seductive voice.

He knew that none of this was sticking to the plan…to working things out before he and Lexie actually took this to the next step. But apparently, just like yesterday, today wasn't his day to play nice so instead Mark promised himself he'd start behaving _tomorrow_.

Lexie jumped at the sound of Mark's voice, "can't, I'm on Dr. Hunt's services and he has a patient who's about to go up to theatre so I'm scrubbing in" Lexie answered.

It was obvious by the look on Mark's face that he was disappointed to hear Lexie reject his offer, it wasn't often that Mark invited Intern's in to his O.R. "What could Hunt have that's better than staple boy?" Mark asked.

Lexie smirked at Mark's look of indignation, she knew that it would be a blow to his ego to have an Intern say no to his surgery. "The patient decided he wanted to play chicken with an oncoming car and he lost control of his motorcycle, so now he has a huge metal rod sticking out of his thigh" Lexie answered.

Mark shook his head, "these kids are getting dumber and dumber" he commented with a disturbed look on his face

"Dr. Grey is our patient ready for the O.R.?" Owen asked before looking at Mark, "Dr. Sloan you need to find your own intern. Stay away from mine, you already traded her in yesterday" Owen argued, getting very territorial over his intern.

"Dr. Grey is a free woman, she can chose to scrub in on whatever surgery she chooses" Mark argued back, looking at Own firmly with a threatening glare.

Lexie rolled her eyes in disbelief, "if you two are finished with the pissing competition you have going on here there are patients in the ER in need of your attention" Lexie pointed out.

"Fine if your so serious about scrubbing in on Hunt's surgery then go for you life, just remember it's the last time I'm offering you a surgery" Mark announced as he began walking away, but they both knew that that was a lie.

Lexie looked over her shoulder and saw Dr. Hunt was talking to one of the nurse so she had about five minutes. "Do you like chicken?" Lexie called out to Mark's retreating back.

Mark stopped in his tracks and gave Lexie a funny look, "excuse me?" he asked while trying not to laugh as he watched Lexie squirm.

"Do you…" Lexie trailed before quickly closing the gap between them, she didn't want any of the nurses to overhear their conversation. "Do you eat chicken…do you and chicken get along or do you have an aversion to it?" Lexie asked nervously.

She had been trying to think of something to cook on short notice but would still be edible as far as the others were concerned.

"I eat chicken" Mark answered Lexie while trying really hard not to smile.

"Dr. Grey, move it" Owen yelled as he began to wheel their patient out of the E.R.

"Chicken it is then" Lexie agreed with a pleased smile on her face, "I better go before…" she trailed off as she began walking backwards and bumped straight in to a nurse. "Oh sorry" Lexie apologised, looking over at Mark with an embarrassed smile she quickly ran after Hunt.

**************

"I think we walked into the wrong apartment" Callie stated with a look of disbelief on her face, "my apartment has _never_ smelt this good" she declared as the smell of Lexie's cooking overtook her senses.

Shaking her head Arizona giggled at Callie's over excitement at the smell of the food, "Calliope you make it sound as if you've never smelt food before".

"Obviously you've never seen how dangerous Callie can be if you get in the way of her and her food" Mark teased.

With a playful glare on her face Callie turned to Mark and punched him on the arm before stomping over to Lexie.

"Torres let me give you a bit of advice, never attack the one who brought the alcohol" Mark pointed out, waving the bottle of wine he was holding in the air.

Lexie giggled at Mark's joke while she tried to concentrate on the pot that was boiling away.

"So what's for dinner?" Callie asked, quickly dipping her finger into the sauce Lexie had made and tasted it. Callie couldn't help but let out a moan as the favours exploded in her mouth.

"Somebody please explain to me why the hell I was wasting my time living with Yang?" Callie joked.

"That wasn't very hygienic" Mark pointed out playfully, "I'm not so sure that I _want _to be eating that" he teased.

"Shut up and do your job" Callie ordered, passing Mark the corkscrew to open the wine she went in search of glasses.

"Lexie you really didn't have to go to all this trouble" Arizona stated in awe of the woman's cooking skills.

Lexie shrugged her shoulders, "it wasn't any trouble, in fact it's probably taken me about an hour to put this all together" she reassured Arizona.

"If this is what you can concoct in an _hour_ then I'd love to see what you can do with more time on your hands" Callie commented as she passed Mark the glasses.

"Hey you should try it first before you go giving me such high praise for my culinary skills" Lexie warned Callie.

Mark shook his head, "you know how to boil water so you're off to a better start then Yang or Big Grey" he reassured Lexie while passing around the glasses of wine.

Lexie smiled timidly at Mark as his fingers lightly brushed up against hers as he handed her the glass of wine. Lexie felt a shiver run down her spine at the contact, it had been nearly 48 hours since the last time she felt Mark touch her and it sent a spark of excitement coursing through her body.

"Well dinner's served" Lexie declared with a nervous smile, she hadn't really ever cooked for anyone outside of her immediate family.

"Ok it's official; I'm in love with you" Callie declared playfully after swallowing her first bite of pasta.

Arizona giggled at Callie's exaggeration, "Calliope if I had known food was your kryptonite then I would have cooked you something a long time ago" Arizona teased.

"Where the hell did you even learn to cook like this Grey?" Callie mumbled with food in her mouth.

Mark scrunched up his nose, "Torres didn't your mother ever teach you not to speak with your mouth full?"

Lexie giggled at the look on Mark's face, she didn't know why but Lexie found Mark all the more attractive when he was angry.

"Sorry" Lexie mumbled in embarrassment, quickly dropping her head down in shame Lexie took another bite of her pasta.

"Hey at least _someone_ finds Mark funny, how else is he going to get a laugh" Callie teased with a cheesy grin pointed at Mark, hoping that it would make Lexie feel a bit more comfortable.

Mark shook his head; he decided that with three women in the apartment it would be best for him to keep his mouth shut.

"How are you finding your first month working at Seattle Grace?" Arizona asked Lexie curiously; she knew what it was like to be the outsider so she figured Lexie could use a friend.

"Uh, it's um….it's..."Lexie struggled to answer; Mark and Callie had been wonderful but the rest of the hospital had been a different story. While Derek and Izzie were welcoming Meredith and Cristina seemed to be Lexie's biggest obstacle, the two Resident's were hell bent on making things awkward.

"It's ok Lexie I understand, you're an outsider…we're _both_ outsiders. You, me and Hunt need to stick together" Arizona teased with a playful grin, "the surgeons of Seattle Grace aren't the most warm and inviting people in the world".

"Hey we're warm and inviting" Callie protested, "tell them Mark, we're warm and inviting".

"What she said" Mark answered dryly, he was too busy enjoying his meal.

Giggling at Callie's protests Arizona shook her head, "so Lexie do you have any plans to move back to Boston?"

Mark choked on his food at hearing Arizona ask that question, in the big scheme of things he had never consider the idea that one day Lexie would want to move back to Boston. Mark had just assumed that Lexie would be staying put in Seattle…that they'd both be staying put.

"You ok there Mark?" Callie asked, slapping him on the back she struggled not to laugh at Mark's overreaction.

"Food went down the wrong way" Mark answered with a croaky voice, he was trying his best not to make himself too obvious.

Lexie looked over at Mark who was sitting across form her and for a split second they both drifted off into their own little world, completely mesmerised with one another…neither one of them could seem to look away.

Callie looked back and forth between Mark and Lexie, suddenly she felt like she was intruding on something private. And as much as she loved Mark she wasn't comfortable with the idea of watching him go all googly eyed on Lexie.

She also knew that staring at Lexie like she was the only woman in the world wasn't really helping Mark stick to his plan.

Thinking off the top of her head Callie kicked Mark under the table.

"Ow" Mark cried out, rubbing his shin Mark glared at Callie for interrupting.

"What's wrong?" Arizona asked with an amused look on her face, Mark had bumped the entire table when he reacted to Callie's kick.

"Accidentally kicked myself in the shin" Mark answered, subtly giving Callie a glaring look.

Arizona nodded her head in vague understanding; Callie had briefly explained what as going on between Lexie and Mark. "So Boston…" Arizona trailed, hoping to get the conversation back on track.

"Nope" Lexie answered confidently, "I've actually found something worth sticking around in Seattle" Lexie declared, she hoped that Mark understood that she was talking about him.

Callie smiled proudly at Lexie's answer; she was relieved to hear her new roommate confirm that she had no intentions of leaving Seattle or Mark.

"I need to use the bathroom" Mark excused himself and quickly left the room. While he was trying improve himself…trying to be a better man, Mark still wasn't use to hearing people talk to him like he mattered.

It didn't take Mark long before he came back out into the living room only to be greeted with the sounds of three cackling women.

"Then…and then, then they" Callie struggled to get out through fits of laughter.

"Torres you need to breathe" Mark ordered as he sat back down at the table, it suddenly went quiet and Mark found that eerie.

Lexie looked back and froth between Callie and Arizona while trying not to laugh, she wasn't sure that bringing up the rest of that conversation would be a good idea.

So Lexie decided that keeping herself busy by clearing the empty plates would be a far better idea. As she rose from her seat Mark quickly jumped up from his chair, pulling Callie up as well.

"Callie and I will take care of the dishes" Mark offered, passing off two of the dishes to Callie he quickly pushed her out of the living room before following behind.

"Hey I don't remember this being part of the deal" Callie complained while walking into the kitchen.

"Shut up and walk" Mark growled at Callie, extending his leg forward he playful pretended like he was trying to kick her.

Shaking their heads at the two of them Lexie and Arizona giggled, "you know that a man is serious about you when they _willingly _do the dishes" Arizona told Lexie with a devious smile.

Lexie choked on her sip of her wine, she wasn't sure how much Arizona knew about her situation with Mark. But something told Lexie that the blond Attending was going to become an ally when it came to dealing with Mark and Callie together.

"See it wasn't that difficult" Mark teased Callie, walking back into the room he sat down and refiled Lexie's glass of wine before pouring himself some more.

"You ready to go Arizona?" Callie asked standing beside her.

"What, where are you two going?" Mark asked in a panic, he may have had three glasses of wine but Mark still knew that alcohol and Lexie do not mix together…especially when he was trying to behave himself.

Callie rolled her eyes because she could see that Mark was beginning to freak out, "we have plans and you two look like you're having funny" she answered vaguely as she smiled at Mark teasingly.

Before anyone could even think of protesting Callie quickly pulled Arizona out of her seat and dragged her towards the front door.

"Calliope I'm still holding my glass of wine" Arizona protested in disbelief.

Sighing in frustration Callie stoped in her tracks. Snatching the glass from Arizona's fingers Callie marched back over to the table, putting the glass down in front of Mark she quickly ran back over to Arizona and left without saying another word.

Nervous about being left alone in a room together Lexie quickly picked up her glass of wine and took another sip, hoping that the alcohol would help squash the butterflies in her stomach.

"That's going to go straight to your head if you keep drinking it that fast" Mark warned with a seductive grin on his face.

"Stop doing that" Lexie demanded, while taking another long sip of her wine she rose from her chair and sat down on the couch.

"Stop doing what?" Mark asked in confusion, it didn't take him long before he joined Lexie on the couch.

"Giving me the face" Lexie answered bluntly.

"The face" Mark repeated sceptically.

Nodding her head Lexie took another sip of her wine, she knew that she was being silly. But it was becoming increasingly difficult to give Mark his space when he smiled at her like that.

"The McSteamy face, doesn't work on me. I'm immune to it" Lexie explained, hoping that Mark believed what she was saying because she knew that it was a lie.

She could feel those knots begin to form in the pit of her stomach again, Lexie hated lying but apparently she hated it even more when Mark was the person she was lying to.

Trying to find something to do other then look into Mark's eyes Lexie took another sip from wine, only a lot faster like she couldn't get enough.

"Why don't we go a little bit easier on the wine huh" Mark suggested as he carefully took Lexie's glass from her and set it down on the coffee table.

"So you're immune to the face huh?" Mark asked at the same time he gave her one of those seductive grins which Lexie was adamant she was immune to.

"Yep" Lexie answered with as much confidence as she could muster. She didn't want to talk about this anymore because she knew she was failing miserably at being convincing.

She was also sure that it would lead back to the conversation that Mark had interrupted during dinner.

She knew that Mark wouldn't appreciate knowing that Callie was informing Lexie about Nurses United against Mark Sloan.

Reaching out Lexie grabbed the control and switched the TV on; she couldn't help but squeal in delight as an old black and white Humphrey Bogart film played.

Mark looked back and forth between Lexie and a black man playing the piano as he sung a kiss is still a kiss on the screen.

"What the hell is this?" Mark asked hesitantly because he could see that Lexie was slowly beginning to get sucked into the film.

Lexie had a horrified look on her face while trying to keep one on the film, "please tell me you've heard of the film Casablanca".

"Ok I've heard of Casablanca" Mark lied. He didn't understand why but he'd had enough experience with Derek's sisters to know that women could get quite territorial over their favourite movies.

"Liar" Lexie exclaimed in disbelief, she reach across and slapped Mark across his chest without taking her eyes off of the screen.

"How many times have you actually seen this movie?" Mark asked as he leant forward to pour each of them another glass of wine.

"Once or twice" Lexie lied with a sweet smile on her face.

"Uhh huh, try again" Mark suggested, handing Lexie her wine Mark Rested his left arm against the back of the couch so he could make himself comfortable.

"Fine you win, it's more like ten" Lexie confessed. With out even thinking she curled up against Mark and leant her head across his chest.

Mark's entire body stiffened the second Lexie curled up next to him, but it didn't take long for his body to begin to relax. Mark had never been the kind of guy to sit on a couch and cuddle while watching a film…not even with Addison.

But with Lexie it didn't feel weird or awkward, in fact it felt right and Mark felt more relaxed then he had felt in a really long time.

Mark looked back and forth between Lexie and a shot of Bogart's face, Lexie was so wrapped up in the film that he was pretty sure he could disappear and she wouldn't even notice.

"So you've always had thing for older men" Mark teased.

"Shhh" Lexie shushed Mark without taking her eyes off the film.

Rolling his eyes Mark knew better then to argue with Lexie as she took in every scene that played out in front of her. He decided that if it meant getting to spend some extra time with Lexie then he could find it within himself to sit through a Humphrey Bogart film.

Dropping his arm down from the couch Mark settled his hand on Lexie's hip, his fingers faintly touching a bit of bare skin. Mark knew that normally this would be the part where he would try to make a move but he was growing, and the fact that he was willing to control his urges and sit through a chick flick proved that and in the end it would be worth it.

**************

Forty-five minutes later Lexie grabbed the control to switch the TV off as the end credits began to roll, "so what did you think?" she asked with an excited smile on her face.

Mark shrugged his shoulders, he could see why it was the kind of film that was good at sucking women in and he reluctantly had to admit that the plot wasn't as bad as he thought it would be.

"Admit it you actually liked the film" Lexie teased with a cheeky smile.

"No" Mark answered sternly; he refused to admit to anyone let alone a _girl _that he had been mildly intrigued by a chick flick.

"Mark it's a _classic_, it is ok for you to like it" Lexie tried to goad Mark into admitting the truth.

"I did not like it" Mark argued adamantly.

"Admit it Mark, you liked the film" Lexie tried to persuade him but she could see the stubbornness in his eyes. Pulling away from Mark Lexie sat up on her knees with a devious smile on her face, "admit it Mark" Lexie threatened Mark with her hands held out in front of her.

"Lexie Grey don't you even think about it" Mark warned Lexie with a stern look on his face, he could see where she was going with this.

"Admit it" Lexie giggled as she threw herself against him and began tickling Mark. With only the thin fabric of his shirt separating the skin of his abdomen from Lexie's fingers Mark tried to wriggle free from Lexie, but she was a lot stronger then she looked.

Mark could feel his entire body develop a mind of its own as the burning desire he felt for Lexie coursed through him. Grabbing her by the wrists Mark finally managed to push Lexie away and pinned her down underneath him.

"I thought the leading man's supposed to get the girl?" Mark pointed out; his eyes were entirely immersed in remembering ever single line on Lexie's face.

Her breathing slowed with the feeling of Mark on top of her, "he was doing the noble thing, Rick knew that Laszlo wouldn't be able to go on without her" she answered but she was preoccupied.

Lexie's eyes lingered over Mark's lips which were only a few inches away from hers, bitting down on her bottom lip Lexie closed her eyes as she remembered just how amazing those lips could be.

She knew that they were treading on dangerous water here, if they could barely control themselves in an on-call room then Lexie would love to know how they were supposed to stay in control when they were all alone in an apartment with a bedroom.

"We shouldn't be doing this" Mark argued in a husky voice, he wasn't sure who he was trying to convince but either way Mark knew he was failing miserably as he began to lean in closer towards Lexie.

"We're not doing anything" Lexie argued.

"Yet" Mark whispered with his lips an inch apart from Lexie's.

Lexie's answer was swallowed up by his hungry kiss; it was long, hard and literally took her breath away. She couldn't help but compare it to the kiss they had shared inside the on-call room and Lexie concluded that this was so much better then any kiss they could share inside the hospital.

Mark knew that he needed to pull away, that he needed to put a stop to this before either of them reached the point of not return…though Mark was pretty sure he had reached that point when she began reciting the periodical table.

Gasping for air as Mark's mouth moved from her lips to her throat, Lexie arched her back. When she moaned his name he knew what she wanted, knew it because he wanted the same thing.

It was that precise moment that rational thought came back to bite him on the bum, reluctantly Mark jerked away from Lexie and jumped up off the couch like he had just burnt himself because he was playing with fire.

"We, we can't do this" Mark panted, while his mind was telling him no the rest of his body was definitely telling him to leave rational thought behind.

Mark's eyes roamed over Lexie's body which was sprawled out along the couch, his eyes resting on her red swollen lips where he had kissed her hard.

"We should, I should…I mean we could" Mark tried to say but he had completely worked himself up to the point where words were no longer his friend.

Mark was beginning to get frustrated with the whole situation, he was Mark Sloan and Mark Sloan didn't turn into a bumbling idiot around women…they were supposed to be the ones who go weak at the knees.

"We could talk" Mark finally managed to say, "yeah talk…talking's good, talking's safe" Mark suggested. He knew that leaving was an even safer option but he didn't really want to leave.

Lexie propped herself up on her elbows, "talk" she repeated in disbelief. "You want to _talk_" she asked, praying beyond belief that she had misheard him.

With his arms crossed Mark leant against the dining table and nodded his head.

Lexie could see the seriousness in Mark's face, but she could also see the vulnerability in his eyes. Lexie began to feel guilty; while she was getting frustrated with the lack of sex in her life Mark was trying to be the good guy.

She could see in his eyes that Mark was trying to prove to her, but more importantly to himself, that he had more to offer than just sex.

Lexie's intention had never been to lure Mark into bed with her dinner invitation and that was the last thing she wanted him to think.

"Well I need some coffee because that wine has gone to my head" Lexie declared casually, brushing off what had just happened like it was no big deal. But Lexie was pretty sure that she'd never be able to look at that couch the same way again.

"Ok so now you know my favourite film what's yours?" Lexie asked, walking back into the living room with two cups of coffee.

"You want to talk about films?" Mark asked sceptically as he took the cup from Lexie.

"Hey you're the one who wanted to talk" Lexie argued playfully as they both sat down on the couch.

"Scarface" Mark answered; he could see Lexie rolling her eyes at his answer. "What, what's wrong with it?" Mark asked defensively.

"Nothing, it's just such…well it's such a guys film" Lexie explained.

"Last time I checked I am a man" Mark argued with a playful smile on his face.

"Nobody's disputing whether or not you're a man Mark" Lexie stated with a seductive grin on her face.

Mark shook his head, "I was asking for that one" he sighed in defeat.

Their conversation quickly took on a life of its own and some how, though Mark wasn't sure how, they had managed to get to the topic of Derek's pet frog.

"You put Derek's frog in the microwave?" Lexie asked through fits of laughter.

"I never pressed the start button" Mark pouted like a little kid who just got caught with his hand in the cookie jar.

"So how come you never pressed the start button?" Lexie asked; she had finally managed to get her laughing under control.

"Mrs. Shepherd walked in before I could" Mark answered.

"Ok so now I know that you're a Yankees fanatic who loves his gangster films and has no issues when it comes to animal testing" Lexie teased with a mischievous smile on her face.

Mark shook his head in disbelief, he had tried not to smile back but he was sucker when it came to Lexie's smile.

For nearly two hours they carried on in a comfortable conversation where they'd throw questions back and forth at one another, neither of them hesitated in answering…especially Mark.

He was enjoying it, he never really understood why people were so into the talking before sex idea but now he did. Mark was quickly learning things about Lexie that he otherwise probably never would, and it made him feel like he understood her more…like she was more then just an infatuation.

It was nearly midnight when Callie and Arizona came back to the apartment only to find Mark and Lexie huddle together on the couch sound asleep, Callie had never seen Mark that relaxed before that it was almost scary but endearing at the same time.

"Why are they asleep on the couch when there's a perfectly good bed down the hall?" Arizona whispered softly. She didn't want to wake Mark or Lexie but she couldn't help smile at the sight in front of her, it was the cutest thing she had ever seen.

Callie immediately began shaking her head and pulled Arizona towards her own room, "because a bed gives Mark too much room to work with" Callie answered with a devious grin.

**************

**Reviews welcomed, I really do appreciate feedback :-) **


	8. Family Ties

**************

**Family Ties**

Lexie tried to lay as still as possible, she didn't want to wake Mark up when he looked so peaceful…but it might of also had to do with the fact that Lexie enjoyed lying in his arms far too much.

Despite how uncomfortable the couch was it was still the best night's sleep she'd ever had and it was all because of Mark. She couldn't explain it…or maybe she could but she just wasn't ready to go there yet, but for whatever reason she always felt safe around him.

"Stop doing that" Mark groaned in annoyance, he hated people watching him outside the O.R.

He could sense her watching him from the second she had woken up but Mark pretended to be asleep; he didn't want Lexie knowing he was awake because it meant he'd have to let go of her.

Mark was never good at sleeping, let alone sleeping with some who was curled up right beside him. But with Lexie it was different, with Lexie he could sleep the day away without a care in the world and Mark wasn't used to that.

Rolling his head Mark buried his face in to the side of his arm which Lexie was using as a pillow.

"I have to get up" Lexie sighed; she really didn't feel like moving.

Mark tightened his grip around Lexie's waist, "no" he grumbled sternly.

Lexie giggled at the way Mark was acting, "I need to take a shower" she argued but she could see that Mark wasn't listening.

"I'm too comfortable" Mark pouted, slouching further down onto the couch he buried his face into the side of her neck.

Lexie knew that it was wrong and mean but she really needed to take a shower and it was the only way she could think to get Mark up. So gently she stroked his face with a seductive smile, "you're more than welcome to join me" she suggested.

Mark kissed her then, it was long and still and neither of them moved. He felt her smile against his lips as Mark found his feet on the floor and pulled Lexie up off the couch, their lips never separating.

"What are you doing?" Lexie asked, tilting her head back so she could look Mark in the eyes.

Taking Lexie's mouth again, he started walking them towards the bathroom. She immediately took the advantage of the position to free Mark of his shirt, her fingers trembling as she attacked his belt buckle but Mark swatted her hand away.

Lexie couldn't believe that it was this easy. That after all the resistance Mark had put up…and especially after last night that it was finally going to happen. Her hand traveled upward greedily, feeling at last the toned body that she'd only been allowed to dream about before.

With Lexie pressed up against the wall beside the bathroom door Mark's hands began to slowly slide down her sides, coming to a rest on her hips. With their mouths still fused together Mark blindly reached out for the door handle, it took him a few tries before Mark was finally able to find it.

With door open Mar guided Lexie into the bathroom and the second he had her inside the room Mark quickly but reluctantly pulled away from her.

"Mark" Lexie moaned with her eyes closed, as she reached out for him she felt nothing but air brushing against her fingers.

Once she opened her eyes Lexie spotted a shirtless Mark holding onto the door handle with a wicked grin on his face, "enjoy your shower" he teased.

"Why you…" Lexie sneered playfully; as she lunged towards the door Mark closed it on.

"You are an evil, evil man Mark Sloan" Lexie yelled in frustration, "you're nothing but a tease".

"Says the woman who used sex to get me up off the couch" Mark argued with a proud smile on his face. He didn't think that his little stunt would actually work as well as it did, it was a boost to the ego to know that Lexie wanted him just as much as he wanted her.

"Well if you think I'm ever going to have sex with you Mark Sloan then think again because it is never, I repat _never_, going to happen" Lexie declared adamantly.

Mark shook his head with a smirk; he bought that line just as much as she did. He held onto the door handle tightly as Lexie tried to open the door, he didn't want to give her the chance of getting out.

Mark knew that if she did then that would be his undoing, "well then you better make sure that your shower's a cold one because it looks like you're going to be having a lot of those" Mark teased.

"If anyone needs a _cold _shower it's you" Lexie hit back dejectedly, she knew that it was pointless to argue with Mark.

Hearing the shower begin to run was like music to his ears because it meant that he didn't have to try and fight Lexie anymore. But then his thoughts began to wonder over to the fact that Lexie was in the shower…where she was completely naked.

Mark shook his head; _snap out of it_ he scolded himself because the last thing he needed to be doing was to picture a naked Lexie in his head.

"Saved by the bell" Mark sighed in relief at the sound of the doorbell, making his way over to the door he thanked what ever divine being was up their for not letting his mind run away from him.

Opening the front door Mark froze in his spot, he had to force himself to smile at the older woman.

"Dr. Sloan" Susan stated with a shocked look on her face while her eyes lingered over his bare chest for a fraction of a second. The last thing Susan had expected was a half naked Mark Sloan answering the door.

"Mrs. Gre…Susan, would you like to come in?" Mark stuttered in embarrassment. Leaving the door open for the older woman Mark quickly turned on his heel and went in search of his t-shirt.

Spotting it on the floor near the dining table Mark quickly put it back on before facing Susan again, if he was sure of one thing it was that his face was red as anything.

"Is Lexie home?" Susan asked; trying to brush it off like she didn't have a clue what Mark looked like with out a shirt on.

"Uhh she's umm; she's actually in the shower" Mark stammered nervously, his mind was trying to put what just happened in a box and burry it deep within his mind.

"You're here rather early" Susan commented while trying not to giggle at her own little tease. She knew that it was wrong and that Mark probably felt awkward about it but Susan couldn't help herself.

"I spent the night here…I mean on the couch, I slept on the couch" Mark answered, hoping like hell that Susan would believe him despite his lack of clothing.

"The couch" Susan repeated nodding her head in mock seriousness.

"Yes mam the couch, there was no…I mean we didn't, I'm not sleeping with your daughter" Mark tried to reassure Susan but the look on Susan's face told him that she wasn't buying it.

Turning his head away from Susan Mark closed his eyes, wishing like hell that he'd be anywhere else but here when he opened them up again. Mark didn't do parent, parents hated him…in particular fathers, so Mark decided to just be grateful that it wasn't Thatcher on the other side of the door.

"I never asked" Susan commented with a sympathetic smile, she could see the embarrassment written across his face.

"I know that, I just, I just wanted you to know that there's no sex…there is absolutely _no_ sex going on" Mark declared.

He stoped talking as soon as the words registered in his own head, Mark scrunched his face up in disgust because those words sounded so wrong to him on so many levels.

"Mark as much as I value your honesty I strongly recommend that you don't bring up my daughter's sex life in front of her father" Susan suggested with a playful smile. "Thatcher still likes to believe that his girls are young and innocent despite the fact that one of them has a daughter of her own" she teased.

"Yes mam, I just wanted to reassure you that there was no; that we're not, because Lexie…" Mark trailed and finally settled on shutting up.

He was digging himself into a bigger whole more than anything else and Mark really needed to stop right now before there was no way back.

"I see you've picked up one of my daughter's finer qualities" Susan pointed out with a smile that was the same as Lexie's.

"Is there anything I can help you with?" Mark asked anxiously. He wasn't sure what the right thing to do was, whether he should make a run for it or stay. But despite the awkwardness of it all Mark wasn't ready to leave Lexie just yet.

"Actually there is" Susan answered with sweet smile on her face.

Mark could hear the warning bells going off in his head; he had seen that smile enough times to know that Susan Grey wanted something.

"What do you have planned this afternoon?" Susan asked bluntly. She didn't want to scare Mark off but he seemed like the kind of man who didn't appreciate playing games.

"Uhh nothing, it's actually my day off" Mark answered tentatively, he really wasn't sure where she was going with this.

"Wonderful then you're free for lunch" Susan stated in excitement, the day seemed to be working out better and better for her.

"Lunch" Mark repeated with a terrified look on his face.

"Eric, my youngest daughter's husband, finished a tour in Iraq and finally came home about two weeks ago and they decided to surprise us with a visit" Susan explained.

"And you want _me_ to join you for lunch?" Mark asked sceptically.

Now he was quickly shifting from being scared to having a complete melt down, Mark was in no way ready to do the whole meet and greet the family. Sure he had met Thatcher once and the man seemed friendly enough, but Mark had learnt early on in life that a man's disposition changes when you're dating his daughter.

"Mark dear are you alright?" Susan asked in concern, he looked like he was about to throw up.

Nodding his head Mark's mouth hung open like a fish out of water, he had no idea what to say. The last person to have invited him to a family gathering had been the Shepherd's…a family that new him with his faults and all.

The Grey's, they Grey's knew nothing about him except for the fact that he was Lexie's boss.

"Mark dear close your mouth or you'll catch a fly" Susan instructed. She was worried about Mark's lack of communication; it was almost as if she had broken him.

"Are you ok?" Susan asked Mark hesitantly.

"Why?" Mark asked as he slid down into a chair, it seemed to be the only word he could process.

"Excuse me?" Susan asked in confusion.

"Why do you want _me _at a family lunch?" Mark questioned again. He was looking at Susan as if she had suddenly grown a second head.

Walking over to Mark Susan gave him a sympathetic smile as she squeezed his forearm in a comforting gesture. "Because I've seen the way my daughter looks at you" Susan answered confidently.

"She looks at me like she looks at everyone else" Mark tried to argue, but even he didn't believe that.

Susan shook her head, "Mark I know my daughter well enough to know when something is important to her and _you _are important to her" she disputed. "That day you were examining me I saw the way my daughter was looking at you even if you didn't".

"How was she looking at me exactly?" Mark asked curiously. There was a part of him that still didn't understand _why _Lexie had chosen him so he thought that perhaps an outside perspective would help him understand.

"Like you mean absolutely everything to her and that just being near you makes her feel safe" Susan answered confidently.

"And you know this how exactly?" Mark questioned.

Susan couldn't help but giggle at Mark's serious demeanour, "uhh aside from the fact that I'm a woman I also know because it's the same way I feel about her father" Susan argued with a soft smile on her face.

Scratching his head Mark groaned in frustration, this wasn't supposed to be so complicated. It was the whole reason why Mark was taking a step back, why he was taking things slow with Lexie.

Mark couldn't seem to stop this internal battle he had going on his head. It was a struggle between what he wanted, which was Lexie, and the right thing to do, which was walking away before she got hurt. He couldn't help but keep thinking that he was no good for her…that he'd only end up hurting her.

"I'm no good for her" Mark whispered softly, he was terrified that if he said it any louder then it might actually be true.

"Mark you need to trust Lexie's judgement" Susan ordered, "because if there is one thing she got from me then it is her excellent judgement in character" Susan declared with a smug grin.

Mark took one look at Susan and he chuckled at her behaviour, she wasn't like most moms…but she did remind him a lot of Carolyn Shepherd.

"Mark I swear to god if you _ever _pull a stunt like that I am going to kill you" Lexie called out making her way out into the living wearing nothing but a towel wrapped around her.

She thought that coming out with only a towel on would be a nice way to torture Mark for his little stunt earlier before but the joke was on her.

"Mom" Lexie yelped in horror, tightening her grip on the towel.

As his eyes roamed over Lexie's wet body, they lingered on her thighs just below the towel, Mark bit down on his bottom lip. He was in hell, Mark was sure of it because where else could something like this happen to him.

Rolling her eyes at the way the two of them were behaving Susan shook her head, "well I'll see the both of you at 1pm" she ordered before making her way to the door.

"Woah wait a minute 1pm, what's going at 1pm?" Lexie asked.

"Molly and Eric made a surprise visit so we're having lunch to celebrate Eric coming home" Susan explained.

"Oh my god Molly and Eric are in town" Lexie squealed in excitement.

"Lexie, the towel" Mark growled in frustration, the towel was becoming too lose for Mark's liking.

"Ooh sorry" Lexie apologised sheepishly, tightening the towel around her body Lexie turned her attention back to Susan.

"Well I should get going before your father decides to try and use the oven again and I'll let you two get back to what you were doing" Susan stated with a wicked smile on her face.

"We're not having sex" Mark yelled out to Susan's retreating back.

As the front door closed Lexie stood there with a sour look on her face and her arms wrapped tightly around her body.

"What?" Mark asked in confusion, he wasn't sure why Lexie was so upset with him.

"Why don you let the rest of the hospital know that I'm not having sex while you're at it" Lexie spat at Mark, turning on her heel and storming into her bedroom.

**************

"Hello anybody home" Lexie called out as she let Mark and herself into the house, Lexie wouldn't actually admit it to Mark but she was nervous about him meeting her dad.

She was also worried that Mark was going to freak out or think that Lexie had put her mom up to this.

"Uhh there you two are" Susan answered walking into the living, "is that an apple cream pie you're holding Mark?" Susan asked.

"Yes" Mark answered slowly, "but Lexie was the one who bought it I'm just the delivery boy".

Smiling at Mark's joke Susan took the desert from Mark, "well it doesn't matter _who_ bought it, all that matters it that you two are now going to be Eric's favourite people" she teased.

"Speaking of which, where is Eric anywhere?" Lexie asked as her eyes roamed the house in search of Molly and Eric.

"Eric's outside with Laura and your father" Susan answered, "Mark why don't you go on back and make sure that the men don't burn the meat…Thatcher has this thing about turning steak into charcoal".

Mark wasn't sure whether she was serious or not so to be polite Mark let out a faint chuckle and Susan quickly joined in on the joke.

"Mark it's just that way" Susan directed him pointing towards the dining room.

"Woah wait a minute" Lexie called out, she quickly grabbed Mark by his jacket before he got away. "You want him to go _outside_" Lexie emphasised giving her mother a strained edgy look.

"Is Mark allergic to the sun?" Susan questioned seriously.

"Is Mark allergic…no mom Mark is not allergic to the sun" Lexie answered sarcastically.

"Well good then, Mark back door's that way" Susan instructed Mark once again, "and Lexie I could use a hand in the kitchen" Susan ordered.

Not even giving Lexie enough time to protest she dragged her daughter into the kitchen while Lexie looked over her shoulder and mouthed _I'm so sorry_.

Smiling at Susan's behaviour Mark shook his head in the hopes of reassuring Lexie that she had nothing to be sorry about. Admittedly Mark had been terrified about the prospect of actually meeting Thatcher outside of the hospital, not to mention a brother-in-law who just cam back from the war.

But as Mark looked around him he could see that they weren't really that any different to the Shepherd family. In fact the more Mark took in the living room the more convinced he was that Susan Grey and Carolyn Shepherd had gone to the same mommy school.

There was a corner completely covered with toys which Mark assumed was for Lexie's niece Laura while the mantle piece was completely adorned with photos from various stages of Lexie and Molly's life.

It was a stark contrast to the house that Mark grew up in and it was just another reminder how worlds apart he and Lexie really are. While Lexie probably had the care free childhood where her mom used to yell at her for running through the house with muddy feet Mark would get yelled out just for moving at a pace quicker then a snail.

"You must be Mark" Eric interrupted with a wide smile on his face, he had been looking forward to meeting Mark from the second Susan had announced he was coming.

It was the first time Lexie had ever brought a man home to meet her parents and Eric wasn't going to miss it for the world.

"Eric Thompson" he introduced himself, holding his hand out to Mark.

"Mark Sloan" Mark answered shaking Eric's hand with a genuine smile on his face. Mark thought he knew what to expect when meeting a man who had just come back from the war, he was expecting Eric to be more like…well more like Owen.

But he wasn't anything like Owen Hunt. Eric looked happy to be home and like he was floating on cloud nine.

"Dada, dada" Laura squealed as the 20 month old came running into the room as fast as her little legs could take her.

Mark's eyes were fixated on the little girl who looked like the spitting image of Lexie. His imagination began to run away from him as Mark pictured another little girl that looked just like Laura but instead had his blue eyes.

Mark shook his head to try and wipe that image from his mind but it was too late, the seed was already planted and now Mark's mind was getting deeper and deeper into this and he didn't know how to stop it…not that he wanted to.

"Come on we better get out there before Thatcher burns the meat" Eric joked.

"I'm not so sure I want to be eating his food, that's the third time someone's made a crack about his cooking" Mark commented as he followed Eric through the house.

Eric chuckled at Mark's joke, "it's just a little bit of fun we all like to have with him".

**************

"Mom so help me god if dad does anything, and I mean _anything,_ to send Mark running scared and jeopardise this relationship I am holding you personally responsible" Lexie warned her mother with a serious look on her face.

"_Mark_" Molly questioned as she tried to hide her smile, she absolutely loved this. She'd had her turn of torture and now it was Lexie's and Molly planned on enjoying every little bit of it.

"Your father's already been ordered to be on his best behaviour, you have nothing to worry about" Susan reassured Lexie, pushing a plate of carrots and a peeler into her hands.

"All I'm saying is that I really, really like him mom and I don't want dad ruining this with his over-protective macho behaviour" Lexie argued.

"Lexie's in love" Molly chanted with a cheesy grin on her face.

"Uhh excuse me" Mark interrupted with an awkward smile, "Thatcher sent me in here in search of the sausages".

"I'll get them, they're in the fridge" Susan explained.

"Mark I'd like you to meet my little sister Molly, Molly meet Mark" Lexie introduced the two.

"Hi" Molly giggled shaking his hand, it seemed to be the only thing she could do as her eyes roamed up and down the length of Mark's body.

"I promise you she's usually not like this" Lexie swore as Molly continued to giggle while shaking Mark's hand vigorously.

"Here we go" Susan stated offering Mark the plate of sausages.

"Oh thank god" Lexie sighed in relief, she felt absolutely mortified at the way her sister was behaving.

Taking the plate off of Susan's hands Mark instinctively patted Lexie's hip with his free hand and kissed her on the cheek.

_Oh my god_ Molly mouthed as Mark walked out of the kitchen, "I cannot believe you're sleeping with that" she squealed in disbelief.

Lexie rolled her eyes while she tried to push away the sense of frustration that was growing inside of her. "I'm not sleeping with him" Lexie corrected Molly.

Molly opened her mouth to call Lexie on her bluff but instead nodded her head with a knowing smile, "mom do you mind going to check on Laura for me please".

Susan rolled her eyes, "girls if you want me out of the room all you have to do is ask, you do not use my only grandchild against me" Susan told them before leaving the room.

It took Molly all of two seconds before dropping the bowl of potatoes and joining Lexie at the kitchen counter.

"Ok seriously how do you even work with a guy who looks like that, I mean if I had to stand across from him in an O.R. my patient would be dead before we even started" Molly began to ramble. "Not to mention that the sex must be incredible…"

Dropping her head on to the counter and hitting it against her forearm Lexie groaned in frustration, "why does everybody feel the need to bring up my non-existent sex life?"

"Oh come on mom isn't here anymore you can tell me" Molly tried to persuade Lexie in to telling her.

"No I can't because there is nothing to tell, until this morning I didn't even know what Mark looked like without a shirt on" Lexie explained in anger.

She understood that Mark wanted to take things slow, that he wasn't willing to keep up with his usual tricks. But when everyone else seemed intent on bringing up her sex life the constant reminders were increasingly frustratingly.

"Wait a minute no sex" Molly gasped with a disturbed look on her face.

"Yep, no sex for Lexie" she confirmed with a sarcastic smile.

"Girl's have you seen…" Thatcher trailed, barging straight into the kitchen he was completely ignorant to the fact that he had walked in on something.

"Seen what dad?" Lexie asked while silently thanking him for walking in, she really didn't want to talk about sex anymore.

"Seen Mr. Bugsy" Thatcher answered, "Laura's crying for it and Eric's upstairs checking the spare room".

"Wait a minute if you're in here and Eric's upstairs then who's cooking the meat" Molly asked hesitantly.

"Mark" Thatcher answered; he was too distracted with his search for Laura's stuffed rabbit to notice the dumbfounded look on Molly's face. "It's not in here" Thatcher sighed in defeat while leaving the room.

Molly opened and closes her mouth as she tried to find the right words but she was too annoyed, Lexie on the other hand knew exactly what was bothering her little sister.

"Molly breath" Lexie reminded her with a smile on her face.

"2 years" Molly declared holding two of her fingers up to stress her point, "it took Eric two years before dad let him anywhere near that barbeque. That freakin barbeque is his holy grail, and…and it takes your guy all of ten minutes to get his hands on it" Molly rambled in disbelief.

"Hey have either of you…" Eric asked, sticking his head into the kitchen but was cut off by Molly.

"No we haven't seen the stupid bunny" she snapped in frustration.

"Is everything ok?" Eric asked hesitantly while walking into the kitchen.

"Dad likes my guy better" Lexie chanted with smug grin on her face, she knew that it was mean but Lexie couldn't resist.

"Do I even want to know?" Eric asked sceptically because by the way both sisters were behaving Eric took it as a no.

Before Lexie had the chance to explain what was going on Mark walked into the room, "hey lunch is ready" he declared.

"Good because I could eat a cow" Eric announced, "Mark you want a beer?" he asked making his way over to the fridge.

"Absolutely" Mark answered taking the offered beer from Eric. The two of them left the kitchen talking about the state of the baseball league, completely oblivious to Lexie and Molly.

Letting out a light chuckle Lexie walked over to Molly and wrapped her arm around Molly's shoulder, "look at it this way at least now Eric has a playmate" Lexie teased as she led her sister into the dining room.

"Ok so what's really wrong with him?" Molly questioned her sister, popping a tomato into her mouth.

"Molly" Lexie gasped; she was completely mortified at her sister's lack of tact.

"What?" Molly asked ignorantly, "I'm just asking because there is no way that god could put that much talent into a man who looks like he does" Molly argued pointing her fork at Mark.

"Hi I'm not sure we've met before, I'm Eric Thompson and you might know my _wife_ Molly Grey-Thompson" Eric teased with a playful smile while holding his hand out to Molly.

Rolling her eyes Molly swatted Eric's hand away, "there's no need to be a smart ass" Molly pointed out.

"Molly watch your language at the table" Susan scolded her youngest child, "and apologise to Mark and Eric" she ordered.

"Yeah Molly apologise" Lexie repeated with a smug grin on her face.

Shaking his head Eric took a sip of his beer to try and hide his smile, "you better get used to this Mark because soon she'll fully adopt you into the family and start calling you son before you even know it" Eric warned Mark.

"So you better warn your mother to get used to sharing you" Thatcher teased with a huge smile on his face. At first he'd had reservations about his daughter dating a man much older man but Thatcher was quickly beginning to ease into the idea.

Susan could see that Mark had suddenly become uncomfortable at the mention of his mother. "So Mark Lexie told me that you're from New York" Susan commented, hoping to change the subject.

"Yep, born and raised in New York" Mark answered with a soft smile, there was something humbling about the fact that Lexie would talk to her mother about him.

"But I've started to like living in Seattle" Mark added.

Lexie scoffed at Mark, "since when, all you do is complain about the crappy weather that Seattle has…you know you should just move back to New York" Lexie teased.

Thatcher and Susan couldn't help but smile at how natural and how comfortable both Mark and Lexie seemed around each other and around everyone else. It was all that either of them ever wanted for Lexie, for her to find a man who made her happy.

"So does that mean if I move to New York that you're coming with me?" Mark asked. He tried to pass it off as a joke but somewhere deep down he was serious about the question.

"I'll go wherever you want me to go" Lexie answered with a teasing smile on her face, but she was certain that Mark understood she was just as serious as he had been.

**************

"I should get going" Mark argued between kisses, he had Lexie pinned up against her front door with both his hands on her hips.

"That would be a little bit more convincing if you actually stopped doing this and walked away" Lexie pointed out.

They had been standing outside in the hallway of Lexie's apartment for the last ten minutes. It hadn't been long after lunch was over that Mark and Lexie had managed to make their escape, but all in all Mark was confident with the way things went.

"You think you're so funny don't you missy" Mark replied with a sarcastic smile on his face.

Tightening her grip around Mark's neck Lexie leant forward, "I know I am" she whispered before kissing him softly on the lips.

"Ok now I'm really going" Mark stated adamantly but he could feel his resolve quickly slipping away.

Pulling Mark closer towards her Lexie wriggled her body in the slightest way to get a reaction out of Mark while smiling, "or you could always just come in" she suggested.

Mark felt his entire body spring in to action as she continued to wriggle around underneath him. "You're playing dirty" he pointed out with a frown.

"Do you want to know what's not fair" Lexie asked as her hand ghosted over his lips. "What's not _fair_ is having women tell you how incredible your sex life must be when the truth is celibacy has become your new best friend" Lexie argued.

Mark closed the gap between them quickly, claiming her mouth before she could continue. "I'm sorry" Mark sighed after finally pulling away from Lexie; he knew that this was killing her because it was killing him just as much.

"Mark you have nothing to be sorry about, I understand that you're trying to change but…" Lexie trailed. She wasn't sure continuing with this conversation was such a good idea.

"But what" Mark asked with a frown.

"Well can't we try new _while_ having sex" Lexie suggested with an innocent smile.

Running his finger along her collarbone Mark leant forward and kissed Lexie on the base of her neck. "No" he answered and pulled away from her before anymore damage could be done.

"Fine if you're going to keep refusing to give me sex then I'll just have to find somebody else who can keep me preoccupied until you're _ready_" Lexie teased with a seductive voice, she knew how much talking about other men sent Mark insane.

"Oh really, and pray tell who is this _somebody else_" Mark asked, going along with Lexie's little joke.

"Well Megan was pretty adamant that she had caught Dr. Karev stairing at my butt yesterday, and I hear that he can be a lot of fun" Lexie teased.

Stealing one last kiss from Lexie Mark pulled away, "stay the hell away from Karev" he warned her.

"Or what" Lexie asked with a serious look on her face.

Shaking his head Mark leant forward, "I'll see you at the hospital tomorrow" he stated before kissing her one last time. When he pulled his lips gently from hers Lexie leaned in to reclaim then but Mark tilted his head back and made eye contact.

"Didn't your mother ever teach you that good things come to those who wait" Mark teased.

"Well I guess tomorrow I'll be getting Alex's number" Lexie yelled out to Mark's retreating back.

"I mean it little Grey, stay the hell away from Karev" Mark warned her with a dead serious look on his face while stepping onto the elevator.

As the doors closed Lexie groaned in frustration and walked into the apartment, she immediately spotted Callie who was curled up onto the couch with a tub of ice-cream.

"I thought you had plans with Arizona?" Lexie asked in confusion.

"We did but she got called back into work" Callie pouted before taking another bite of her ice-cream. "So what did you and Sloan do today?" she asked in the need of a distraction.

"We had lunch with my family" Lexie answered with a proud smile on her face. Mark had been absolutely amazing and she was pretty sure that he had managed to win her father over within the first five minutes.

Callie tried to hold it in but failed miserably as she began laughing hysterically, the thought of Mark meeting the parents was so much better then ice-cream as a real pick me up.

Looking up at Lexie she saw that the Intern was dead serious and wasn't impressed with Callie's teasing. "You're serious" she pointed out, she was completely dumbfounded.

"Yes I'm serious" Lexie answered, flopping down onto the couch she took a spoonful of the ice-cream and took a bite.

"How did it go?" Callie asked in all seriousness, she hoped to god that Mark hadn't screwed it up because for Mark this was big.

"It went great, my parents love him, Eric and Molly love him…even my niece Laura loves him" Lexie answered.

Callie nodded her head in understanding, "Mark's a very loveable guy".

"Yeah now I just need to find a way to get him to have sex with me" Lexie pouted loud enough for Callie to hear.

"He will, you just have to give him time" Callie argued in Mark's defence.

"It doesn't help when he keeps dangling the carrot in front of my face but won't actually deliver on it; it's just sort of mean. It's sort of like bringing a 6-pack to an AA meeting" Lexie argued.

Shaking her head Callie laughed at Lexie, she was oozing pent up frustration that it really wasn't…but then again it really was when Callie wasn't the one being left out in the cold.

"You know Mark better then anyone else, how do I get him to sleep with me?" Lexie asked pleading.

Callie shrugged her shoulders, "Derek's known Mark longer, going and ask Derek" she suggested with a smirk.

"Sure thing, tomorrow morning I'll just march right over to Derek and just say to him _hi Dr. Shepherd I was hoping that you could take some time out of your busy schedule of saving lives to tell me what is the best way is to get Mark to have sex with me_" Lexie stated sarcastically.

Both women began laughing hysterically as they each pictured the look on Derek's face, "stupid, stupid no sex rule" Lexie muttered.

"Here you need this more than me" Callie stated, holding out the tub of ice-cream.

Taking the ice-cream from Callie Lexie begun to dig into like she had never seen ice-cream before, "where are you going?" she called out to Callie's retreating back.

"I'm going to stop by the hospital and visit my wonderful girlfriend who I have great sex with" Callie answered with a teasing smile.

With a glaring look on her face Lexie grabbed a pillow and tossed it in the direction of Callie's head, it missed her by an inch as Callie closed the door.

With a pout on her face Lexie studied the spoonful of ice-cream, debating whether or not to have it but she finally cracked. "If this goes straight to my ass Mark Sloan's a dead man" Lexie mumbled before taking a spoonful of ice-cream.

It wasn't as good as sex but apparently Lexie would just have to learn to compensate until Mark came around, but she was definitely going to make him pay for it.

**************

**Reviews welcomed, I really do appreciate feedback :-) **


	9. Ready to Run

_Sorry this has taken so long but I've been swamped with my last few weeks of uni and it didn't help that I've been sick but I'm all better now and uni's over, wohoo. Hope everyone likes this but just a bit of a warning it's more based on Mark trying to sort himself out then him with Lexie. I'm hoping to update some of my other stories soon and again sorry this has taken so long. _

**************

**Ready to Run**

"What's going on?" Callie asked, stumbling into the living half asleep.

She had instantly woken up when reaching out for Arizona Callie's hand was met with nothing but cold sheets.

Shaking her head Arizona couldn't help but smile lovingly at her girlfriend, everything about Callie was just so attractive.

"We're going for a run" Lexie explained, bent over she concentrated on tying up her shoelaces rather than looking at Callie.

Callie looked back and forth between Arizona and Lexie, taking in their attire with a horrified look on her face. "You're running?" she questioned them because Callie was hoping she had heard her roommate wrong.

"We're running" Arizona repeated cheerfully.

"Its 5am" Callie pointed out; personally she found it disturbing that anyone would wake up before the sun to go _running. _

"Actually its 4am" Lexie corrected Callie.

Jumping up from the couch she jogged on the spot to test out her old running shoes.

"Why?" Callie asked in disbelief because it still didn't make any sense to her why they were going running at 4am.

"Because it's good exercise" Lexie argued bluntly.

While she loved living with Callie there were some things that she still wasn't entirely comfortable sharing with her roommate.

Callie rolled her eyes at Lexie's rehearsed answer, "if you need exercise talk to Yang, I'm sure she'd be more than happy to send you running around the hospital at a _reasonable _hour" she argued.

"Calliope" Arizona warned her girlfriend. She didn't want Callie talking Lexie out of this because she had actually been looking forward to it.

When Lexie mentioned her plans to go running Arizona immediately volunteered to go with her.

"Fine if you really must know I'm running because I need to find a way to keep my stress levels down since my _boyfriend _refuses to have sex with me" Lexie admitted bitterly.

It had been over two weeks since their lunch with her family and Mark wasn't any closer to caving on the issue, instead he was the opposite…Mark seemed even more stubborn then he had been a week ago.

Callie sighed in frustration, "ok fine I get why you're running, but why the hell are you going with her…you get sex, you get plenty of sex" Callie reminded Arizona with a coy smile.

"Callie would you really prefer that I let her go running out on the dark streets of Seattle all _alone_" Arizona questioned with a playful glare.

"Yeah because _two _women running out on the streets in the middle of the night is so much safer" Callie scoffed sarcastically.

"You ready?" Lexie asked Arizona with an eager smile. She had been going out of her mind trying to find ways to distract herself from the issue at hand.

Lexie had tried everything from eating her way through a tub of ice-cream to literally begging Mark…which wasn't one of the finest moments in her life. In fact she was pretty sure that Mark was now saying no on purpose, that he _enjoyed_ watching her suffer.

"Yep" Arizona answered with a happy smile, "we'll see you later" she told Callie. Giving her a quick kiss Arizona followed Lexie out the front door, smiling at the sound of Callie mumbling about how she was going to kill Mark.

**************

"I am only going to say this once and once only" Callie warned, sneaking up behind him she managed to catch Mark off guard.

"And what would that be exactly?" Mark asked while trying to hide the smirk on his face, he knew by now not to make fun of a mad Callie.

"You need to have sex with your girlfriend _tonight_" Callie hissed with a glaring look on her face.

Shaking his head Mark couldn't hold back the smile anymore; he knew that it was mean and that in the long run he probably wasn't doing himself any favours. But as much as Mark really wanted to he couldn't, not just yet.

"I'm serious Mark you need to sleep with her…"

"What now she's resorted to getting you to plead on her behalf" Mark teased.

"No" Callie whined, "I'm complaining because I don't particularly appreciate being woken up at 4am because your girlfriend decides to drag mine running through the streets of Seattle".

"What?" Mark asked with a furrowed brow.

"Uh huh, they're running because Lexie needs to find an outlet for all this pent up frustration that _you've _created" Callie raved like a mad woman, poking Mark in the chest to emphasise her point.

"Are they trying to get themselves killed?" Mark growled. He knew that he was overreacting but the idea of Lexie and Arizona running on deserted streets in pitch black didn't exactly make him feel all warm and tingly on the inside.

"Exactly" Callie exclaimed, throwing her hands up in frustration.

"They went running?" Mark asked again sceptically but calmer, Lexie really didn't seem like the type of girl who went running to him.

"They went running" she repeated solemnly.

"And it's because we're not…"

"Yep" Callie answered before Mark could finish that sentence; she never thought the day would come that she'd have to beg Mark Sloan to have sex.

"Interesting…so what are they friends now?" Mark asked casually, trying not to make a big deal out of it.

"Apparently" Callie sighed; she wasn't sure how she felt about her girlfriend getting close to a young, pretty 24 year old.

"How close are we talking about here…?" Mark trailed, "I mean are we talking Yang and big Grey close or you and me…"

"No, no, no…definitely not you and I close, never gonna happen" Callie answered quicker than Mark could finish that sentence.

Shaking his head Mark smirked at how silly Callie was behaving, "worried that your girl might be attracted to my girl Torres" Mark teased her.

Afraid to admit how close to the truth Mark really was Callie did the only thing she knew best, leaning in closer to Mark she quickly and swiftly smacked him across the head.

"Don't be an idiot Mark" Callie growled.

"Damn that hurt woman" Mark whined, rubbing the sore spot on the back of his head.

Ignoring him Callie stomped off in the opposite direction, two feet away from the elevator she sighed and went back over to Mark.

"Look I get that you want things to be different with her, that she's different. And personally I applaud you for your change in lifestyle…"

"Lifestyle" Mark repeated sceptically, "Torres you make it sound like I've given up fatty foods and alcohol" he teased her because despite all the growing he'd been doing Mark still wasn't comfortable talking about feelings.

"All I'm saying is that a girl can only be kept waiting for so long…if you don't hurry up and come to the party then Lexie will find someone who can" Callie warned him and quickly left.

Mark was trying really hard to ignore Callie's comment. Making fun of the situation was all well and good but it didn't make things any easier on him. Mark wanted to…he really, really wanted to take the next step but he couldn't do it.

Every time Mark thought he was ready he'd panic, him, _Mark Sloan_ panicked over sex. Shaking his head Mark sighed in defeat, he had been trying to avoid it because it made him uncomfortable but he knew that he couldn't anymore.

**************

Standing in the middle of the doorway Mark cleared his throat to try and get her attention, he felt like a complete idiot for even doing this but he knew he had to.

With nearly three weeks gone by Mark hadn't really given her a second thought, at first it had stuck in his mind but as things progressed with Lexie Mark let it go…now he wasn't so sure that it had been the smart thing to do.

"Dr. Sloan" she greeted him with surprise, Dr. Wyatt really didn't think that she'd see Mark again…and a week after their last meeting she wasn't going to hold her breath.

Mark's eyes scanned the office, trying to find anything to focus on other than Dr. Wyatt.

She could see that Mark was uncomfortable and that he really didn't know what to do so she decided to give him a helping hand.

"Why don't you have a seat" Dr. Wyatt suggested pointing to the couch.

Mark dragged his feet over to the couch and sat down; he kept shifting in his seat while he waited for her.

"Well aren't you going to say something…you know get the ball rolling?" Mark questioned the woman who sat down across from him.

"I'm not quite sure how your $400 an hour therapist worked back in New York but around here I like to take my time…give you the chance to lead things" Dr. Wyatt commented.

"Then this is going to be the longest hour of your life" Mark joked with a charming smile.

"Do you do that often…make jokes when you feel uncomfortable or when a conversation moves in a direction you're not happy with?" she questioned Mark curiously.

Mark shrugged his shoulders; he really didn't have an answer to that question and the longer he sat in her office the more stupid he felt.

"Alright let's try a different approach, tell me what you're feeling" Dr. Wyatt suggested seriously.

"I don't feeling anything" Mark answered bluntly.

"Nothing" Dr. Wyatt repeated sceptically, she found it hard to believe that he felt nothing. "No happiness? Unhappiness? Fear or guilt?" she questioned him.

"Why should I feel guilty?" Mark asked with a furrowed brow, wondering what he had to feel guilty about.

"Because in your own words, _normal _people don't sleep with their best friend's wife" Dr. Wyatt repeated.

"So then you agree that it's not normal" Mark declared, pointing a finger at the woman accusingly.

"I'm not going to sit here and tell you what is or isn't normal, that's not why we're here" Dr. Wyatt argued seriously, she could see that Mark was going to be just as stubborn as Meredith.

"This has nothing to do with Addison" Mark stated frankly, he didn't know why he had said it but Mark felt like it needed to be said.

"Doesn't it? Your actions destroyed a marriage, hurt your _best friend_…you've pushed your feelings aside for so long that I'm not even sure you know how to name it. And you have to name it before you can finally let go, before you can move on with your life. So I'm asking you to tell me what you're feeling. And Mark…this is about Addison" Dr. Wyatt preached.

"It's about the fact that I'm in a relationship, I'm in an adult relationship and I can't do it…I can't have sex with my girlfriend" Mark exclaimed, incessantly tapping his right foot out of nervousness. "And it has nothing to do with Addison, because the way I feel about Lexie and the way I feel about Addison aren't the same".

"No, no one's claiming that you feel the same way about both women. But maybe…just maybe it's possible that your feelings for Addison are stoping you from moving into the physical aspect of your relationship with Lexie" Dr. Wyatt tried to reason with Mark.

"I might not be able to tell you what I'm feeling but what I can tell you is that my hesitation in sleeping with my girlfriend has nothing to do with some deep seeded love that you think I have for Addison" Mark stated assertively.

"How do you know? How can you know what you're feeling when you can't put a name to it" she argued with him.

Rubbing his face Mark groaned in annoyance, he was getting a headache and he had only been sitting on her couch for ten minutes.

"Again with the feelings, what is it with you and needing to name feelings" Mark whined like a little kid who has just been reminded of his chores.

"Clearly you're feeling something right now" Dr. Wyatt tried to use logic to get Mark talking, "so tell me what you're feeling…name it".

"You want to know what I'm feeling; I'm feeling frustrated with you and your stupid questions" Mark exclaimed, throwing his hands up in the air because he felt completely lost.

"Good. That's a start" she praised Mark.

"How is that a start? How the hell is me being annoyed with you a start?" Mark questioned the psychologist dubiously. He really didn't see how it was good just because he could say the word frustrated.

"Because you named it, you claimed your feelings. And now that you know what it is we can find our way through it to somewhere better" Dr. Wyatt explained, hoping that she could get through to him.

"Yeah Doc it's a real miracle" Mark scoffed cynically with his arms crossed; he wasn't taking this as seriously as he should have been.

Mark knew that this was just a waste of time, even if he did have a voice in the back of his head reminding him that he had come here for a reason.

"Can I make a suggestion Mark?" Dr. Wyatt asked hesitantly because she wasn't sure how he was going to take it.

"Would it stop you even if I said no?" Mark asked dryly, he already knew that answer to that question.

"I think it might be a good idea if you take a step back, give yourself some distance from Lexie. That way you'd have time to separate your feelings…"

"Why don't you just take my scalpel hand while you're at it?" Mark cut her off with a furrowed brow.

"Interesting" Dr. Wyatt sighed as she wrote on her pad.

"What's interesting?" Mark asked, stretching his neck out as if it was long enough to see what she was writing.

"The fact that you would equate a separation from Lexie to losing your right hand…the hand that made you the man you are, the hand that is at the centre of your career" Dr. Wyatt explained.

Mark suddenly felt claustrophobic and all he really wanted to do was to get the hell out of there.

"I…I can't be here right now, I have to go" Mark stuttered and quickly left the room, not giving Dr. Wyatt the chance to say anything more.

**************

"Dr. Grey I was wondering if you had a minute" Dr. Wyatt asked Lexie politely.

She knew that she was breaking every moral and ethical code that she stood for but it needed to be done.

"I'm sorry can I help you?" Lexie asked in confusion, she didn't know who this woman was.

"I'm Dr. Wyatt…"

"The resident shrink" Lexie joked, she had heard enough to know who the woman was.

"Dr. Grey I was hoping to have a word with you if you're not too busy about Dr. Sloan" Dr. Wyatt asked her.

At the sound of Mark's name Lexie's ears pricked up along with her curiosity, "sure" she agreed and followed the psychologist into an exam room.

"What can I do for you?" Lexie asked hesitantly because the look on the other woman's face told her that this was serious.

"Dr. Sloan came to see me today…"

"Is this about a patient?" Lexie asked.

"No" Dr. Wyatt answered shaking her head, "this is about Dr. Sloan and your relationship with him…"

"I'm sorry what?" Lexie asked because she thought she had heard the woman wrong.

"He talks to you, he's comfortable with you. But does he really talk to you…about what's going on inside his head, about what he's thinking or feeling?" Dr. Wyatt questioned the young Intern.

She could see that Lexie was thrown off by her sudden line of questioning.

Lexie suddenly felt guilty, like she had to apologise for doing something wrong…but she didn't know what exactly.

"He's avoiding the fact that in order to improve, to heal, Mark needs to confront his feelings and he has to do that by talking about it…"

"I'm sorry but should you even be telling me all of this?" Lexie interrupted the woman. Going behind Mark's back and discussing a private conversation that he'd had with Dr. Wyatt didn't sit right with Lexie.

She felt like she was betraying him and the trust he had in her, and Lexie knew how careful Mark was about trusting people.

"I know that talking to you about my patient is highly unethical and immoral but I tried bringing this up with him and Dr. Sloan didn't want to hear it…"

"Hear what exactly?" Lexie asked sceptically.

"My concern is your relationship with Dr. Sloan. You're his security blanket Dr. Grey. By being with you Mark doesn't have to make a start, he won't have any reason to; he'll feel that he has everything he needs because he has you, until he doesn't. And in order to improve, to heal, he's going to have to start talking, to you or to me…"

"And you want me to…" Lexie trailed.

"I'm asking you to wait and give Mark some space; I won't you to take his security blanket away from him" Dr. Wyatt declared sombrely.

"You mean you want me to _break up _with him" Lexie corrected the woman with disbelief. She couldn't believe that this short, little blonde woman was trying to blame Lexie for Mark not talking.

She really didn't see the problem; as far as Lexie was concerned Mark didn't have any issue when it came to talking to her.

"Think about it" Dr. Wyatt suggested encouragingly before leaving to meet her next patient.

As Lexie watched the psychologist walk away she couldn't help but wonder if the woman had a point…if maybe, just maybe Mark felt like she had been pushing him.

**************

"Hey you" Mark whispered in her ear, catching Lexie off guard he managed to scare her.

"Hey" Lexie answered back with an awkward smile, her mind was still struggling to make sense of her conversation with Dr. Wyatt.

"So my surgery's gonna run a bit late tonight but I was thinking maybe we could grab a bit to eat afterwards, I could swing by and pick up a couple of burgers from Joe's" Mark suggested with the most hopeful smile Lexie had ever seen.

Seeing Mark smile only made the feeling of guilt that much worse, pressuring Mark…complaining about her none existent sex life wasn't helping him, especially when she had promised to give him some space, to take a step back.

Apparently Lexie didn't understand the meaning as well as she thought she had and now she had only made things worse so Lexie was determined to make this right, to make it up to Mark.

"I don't think dinner's a good idea" Lexie answered, she couldn't bring herself to look him in the eye.

"Ok" he stated casually not really thinking too much of it, "I just thought that it'd be nice to have dinner that's all. The last couple of weeks have been pretty crazy around here and it feels like forever since we actually spent sometime _outside _the hospital" Mark explained.

"About that…" Lexie trailed, she really didn't know how to do this without it being painful.

"What about it?" Mark asked carefully, the warning bells started to go off in his head.

"Well I just, I was thinking that…" Lexie trailed, she had this whole speech prepared but her mouth refused to say the words.

Dr. Wyatt's comment about Mark being comfortable around her kept replaying in Lexie's mind. The woman had also said that Mark needed to talk to someone, whether it was with her or with Lexie.

And suddenly she was hit with an idea, it was a pretty crazy idea but Lexie was pretty sure that it might just work…that it might just get Mark talking.

"What time do you finish?" Lexie asked with a sweet innocent smile, hoping to give nothing away.

"Around 9pm" Mark asked with a frown, he really didn't understand woman at all. One second they sound like they're about to ditch you and the next they're asking what time you knock off.

"Good, meet me at the front entrance" Lexie ordered sweetly, "oh and make sure you bring a sweater because it's supposed to be cold" she warned Mark before quickly running off.

Watching Lexie turn the corner Mark shook his head, "I will never understand women" he muttered.

"Join the club" Derek teased passing his patient's file off to one of the nurses.

Dropping his head down Mark groaned playfully overreacting, "why do woman have to be so complicated?" Mark pouted.

Shaking his head Derek chuckled at how out of his depth Mark really was, "you're dating a Grey and Grey's aren't known for their simplicity".

"Got any advice?" Mark asked Derek seriously because between the two of them he was the relationship expert.

Mark and Derek had managed to have the odd conversation here or there over the last few weeks when it came to their personal lives, but they were both too busy with their own Grey's to actually make an effort.

Mark felt guilty about it, he had been so busy trying to grow and be the kind of man Lexie deserved that he had completely neglected Derek…and the truth is Mark had grown closer to Callie over the last few weeks.

But he was determined to make things right between him and Derek.

"Pace your self, don't move too fast" Derek suggested with a proud smile on his face, he was just happy to see Mark finally settle down and stop running.

Mark let out another loud and frustrated groan, he couldn't understand what was with people telling him to slow things down, "rigor mortis moves faster than we are" Mark grumbled.

"Did you just compare your relationship with Lexie to a dead body?" Derek asked with a disturbed look.

Gently resting his head against his forearm Mark shook his head, "don't…please don't even ask because I am seriously disturbed".

Chuckling at Mark's overreaction Derek lightly slapped him on the back, "we already knew that" he teased.

"Derek Shepherd you are a horrible friend" Mark yelled out jokingly to Derek's retreating back.

**************

"Where the hell are you taking me woman?" Mark asked for the millionth time only his kindness was quickly morphing into frustration.

"It's a surprise" Lexie answered as she continued to pull Mark along, refusing to give anymore than that.

"I hate surprises" Mark grumbled like a five year old.

"Well you'll like this one" she stated confidently just as they climbed a small hill.

Mark stood at the bottom of the hill and looked around the baseball field, after the day he'd had Mark felt like his head was about to cave in on him.

"Surprise" Lexie called out with a huge smile on her face.

Mark smiled back awkwardly because he really didn't know what else to say or what else to do. Mark was about to ask Lexie what the hell they were doing at a baseball field when she let go of his hand and ran over to the bench to pick up the bat and helmet that were sitting there.

"Lexie what the hell are we doing at a baseball field at ten o'clock at night?" Mark asked in confusion.

Standing in front of Mark with the bat in one hand and the helmet in the other Lexie dropped her head down in shame, "what I did was unforgiveable Mark" she whispered loud enough for him to hear.

Gently pushing her head up with his finger Mark studied her face intently, there was that gnawing feeling of dread working its way back up again.

"What did you do Lexie?" Mark asked her hoarsely.

"Trust isn't something that's a given, it's something that you have to earn and what I did today…"

"Lexie my imagination is running away from me right now so if you could just tell me what it is exactly that you did" Mark begged.

Lexie took a deep breath, "I spoke to Dr. Wyatt today" she confessed.

In complete shock Mark took a step back, he didn't know whether to be furious with the psychologist or embarrassed that Lexie knew. Mark didn't want it advertised throughout the whole hospital that he was seeing a shrink to get help…despite his little talk with Arizona Mark still couldn't get over the feeling that he was weak.

"What do…uh what do you mean you spoke to Dr. Wyatt?" Mark asked in a daze.

"She came to me actually" Lexie corrected Mark, "she wanted to talk about us, about you and me. She thinks that I need to give you some space; that as long as I am with you you're not going to be able to grow…"

"Ok so what's the unforgiveable part?" Mark questioned her hesitantly.

"I had no business talking to her, the things…the conversations that you have with Dr. Wyatt are private and I have no business knowing what they're about unless you decide to tell me. And for a while, for a while today I actually believed her because I've been a really crappy and pushy girlfriend…"

"Lexie, Lex" Mark called out; reaching out he gently stoked her face to try and get Lexie's attention. "Lexie you haven't done anything wrong" Mark tired to reassure her but he could see that she wasn't listening.

"Yes I have, but I also realised that Dr. Wyatt was right about something else…

"Great so she's succeed in making you realise what an emotionally inept boyfriend you have" Mark interrupted her.

"No" Lexie answered him softly; "you're not emotionally inept Mark. You're just…you're you, your Mark Sloan and Mark Sloan isn't the type of guy who talks about his feelings".

Lexie reached out and put the baseball helmet on Mark's head, "you're comfortable with me…"

"Well aren't you a real Sherlock Holmes" Mark smirked in the hopes of lightening the mood a bit.

"As I was saying, you're comfortable around me and while you might not _talk _about your feelings it doesn't mean that you can't feel…"

"Ok what do my _feelings_" Mark emphasised the word with disdain, "have to do with a baseball field and a helmet" he asked point to his head.

"If you can't talk about your feelings then you need to channel them into something constructive" Lexie declared offering Mark the baseball bat.

Mark looked back and forth dubiously between the bat Lexie was holding and the ball machine standing on the pitcher's mount.

"You want me to hit a ball?" Mark asked cynically.

Grabbing Mark by the hand Lexie pulled him over to the home plate, "I want you to channel all your emotions…everything that you've been feeling today and put all of it into hitting that ball" she instructed him.

"I'm not hitting a ball" Mark protested adamantly.

"Yes you are" Lexie told him as she took a step back, "you're going to hit that ball because it's the only way you're gonna deal with your feelings".

"We could just talk" Mark suggested with a sly grin.

"No" Lexie panned, without any warning she clicked the control and a ball flew past Mark's head missing him by an inch.

"Are you insane?" Mark exclaimed furiously, he didn't like inanimate flying towards his head.

"Hit the ball Mark" Lexie yelled out pressing the button again only this time Mark was ready and he took a step back before the ball could reach him.

"I don't want to hit the ball" Mark argued stubbornly; when people told him to do things he had a tendency to refuse just to annoy them.

"Hit the damn ball" Lexie growled furiously as she prepared to press the button again.

It was scary and attractive at the same time to see such a domineering side of Lexie, it was a side of her Mark had never seen before and he really didn't want to test it out either.

"Fine you want me to hit the ball then I'll hit the damn ball" Mark finally relented as he got into position.

Doing exactly what Lexie had told him to do, Mark channelled everything he was feeling or had been feeling throughout the entire day into hitting the ball.

He couldn't explain it but the second Mark heard that cracking sound of the bat meeting the ball it was like…it was like a part of him felt more calm, more at peace with everything that was happening.

"See that wasn't so bad" Lexie commented with a proud grin on her face, she could see Mark smiling even if he didn't realise that he was.

"Again" Mark called out, pointing to the ball machine.

"Are you sure?" Lexie asked bitting down on her bottom lip, when she had come up with this idea she wasn't sure that Mark would take it seriously…in fact she was convinced that Mark would laugh at her.

Nodding his head Mark positioned himself on the plate again, holding onto the bat tightly as he waited for the next ball to come hurling towards him.

**************

After nearly two hours of relentlessly hitting baseballs that were being hurled at him Mark laughed as he led Lexie back into the apartment.

"It was a foul" Lexie protested stubbornly.

"Was not" Mark argued back, they'd been having the same argument since they left the baseball field.

"Mark you hit the ball and it didn't reach the diamond…just admit that it was a foul" Lexie teased.

She tried to pull away from Mark so she could get a drink but he wouldn't let go, quickly pulling her up against him Mark kissed Lexie gently. The kiss was tender and unhurried, which was something different for him because Mark was always in a hurry to skip past the kissing.

They drew apart after a few moments, resting foreheads together Lexie took in the smell of Mark. She didn't want to say it out loud…to jinx it, but there was something different about him. From the second he stepped away from the home plate it was like there was a shift in Mark, like he was more at peace with himself.

"I'm scared" Mark whispered softly.

For a second Lexie forgot how to breathe, just hearing Mark admit something so personal…so vulnerable about himself made her heart skip a beat. She wasn't sure if she was supposed to say something or just stand there and listen, so as a small gentle smile graced her lips Lexie stroked a hand down his arm until their fingers entwined.

She squeezed his hand tightly because Lexie wanted to reassure Mark that she was there for him…that she would _always _be there for him.

"I'm scared" Mark repeated hoarsely because he couldn't believe that he was doing this; that he was actually admitting to being scared.

But in a twisted sense Mark didn't feel like he had this dark cloud looming over his head, while he was scared he also felt safe around Lexie and that was something that Mark hadn't felt in a long time.

"Mark…" Lexie trailed in a whisper.

Mark shook his head, signalling for her not to say anything because it was really important to him that he said everything he needed to say _before _he chickened out.

"Dr. Wyatt reckons that I need to be able to tell people how I'm feeling if I wanna be all whole and healthy like you and Derek. So I'm telling _you _how I'm feeling, and right now…right now I'm scared beyond belief" Mark confessed.

Letting out a deep breath Mark felt weird but it was a good weird, he felt this huge weight had suddenly been lifted off his shoulders.

"I'm scared about the feelings I have you for you, I'm scared about sleeping with you because I…I've convinced myself that if I do I'm gonna turn back into the man whore and I don't want to be that guy anymore" Mark admitted shyly.

Too touched to even speak Lexie gave Mark's hand another squeeze because it was the only thing she could think of that wouldn't have her blubbering like an idiot.

"But the part, the part that scares the most is losing you" Mark finished but noticed that Lexie was smiling.

"Why are you smiling at me like that?" Mark asked apprehensively, he didn't think that his admission would make Lexie smile.

"I can do scared" Lexie announced proudly, "and I can do happy, unhappy and terrified…I can do all those things. We can do all those things Mark as long as you keep talking to me" Lexie dotingly reassured him.

In that second it was like every fear, every doubt that Mark had had about himself and about his ability to do this right just disappeared into thin air. Reaching out to run his fingers through her air Mark leant forward and kissed Lexie hungrily as he heard a moan escape from deep within her.

Hearing Lexie react to him in that way seemed to set something in motion within Mark because in that very moment he felt like he was whole again. Mark couldn't sense the lingering fears that usually came along with kissing Lexie; instead it was eerily calm inside his head.

With this new sense of calm coursing through him Mark decided to send rational thought on a nice long vacation and just go wherever the sensation took him, letting his hands explore every inch of her that he could reach.

Lexie closed the gap between quickly, claiming his mouth before Mark could say anything she decided to let him take the lead…to follow Mark in whichever direction he took this because in the end this was all about him, it was about doing what ever it took to make Mark whole again.

Pulling away from Lexie Mark swallowed the knot in his throat and gently took her hand in his and began to lead Lexie towards her bedroom.

"Mark wait" Lexie called out with a shaky voice, she was holding onto his hand so tightly Lexie was pretty sure she was cutting off the blood supply. "I don't want you to think…" Lexie began to say but was quickly cut off.

Holding a finger against her lips to stop her from talking Mark shook his head, "how about we both stop thinking for the rest of night and just go with what feels right" Mark suggested seductively.

He could feel his heart literally beating against his ribcage, Mark Sloan had never been this nervous about sex before...to Mark sex had always been a natural thing to do.

But now with Lexie it was different, he was terrified of doing something wrong or of hurting her. Mark kept telling himself that it was good he felt this way because it meant Lexie was different…it meant that tomorrow morning he'd have no regrets and he'd remember everything about it.

Mark kissed her furrowed brow while trying to ignore the brief and unexpected stab of guilt because he had done this to her. He had been to the one to make Lexie second guess herself, to question what was wrong with her that her own boyfriend couldn't sleep with her. Mark had always known that he had a conscience, it was just something that had very rarely been used…until now that is.

Her hand ghosted over Mark's lips then, without any warning, Lexie pulled herself up his body and wrapped her legs around his hips, her hands sliding up around his neck as she kissed his lips.

Holding onto Lexie tighter then Mark had ever held anything before he started walking towards the bedroom.

**************

**Reviews welcomed, I really do appreciate feedback :-) **


	10. It's Not Funny

**************

**It's Not Funny**

"Will you stop" Mark growled while he tried really hard to pretend like Lexie's incessant giggling annoyed him.

He couldn't believe that he had voluntarily explained the entire story of the Nurses United against Mark Sloan campaign but he did.

Mark had always put up this wall between his feelings and the people in his life; he had always believed that it was the safest thing to do. But opening up to Lexie, admitting that he was scared seemed to trigger something inside of him…the wall came crashing down and Mark loved it.

He could say with the utmost certainty that it's not just the sex. Mind blowingly fantastic as it was it's not just the sex and that was a first for Mark. They talked for hours about anything and everything and they laughed…two things that he never did in the bedroom before Lexie.

"I'm sorry" Lexie squeaked, curled up in a ball she was hiding under the bed covers so he couldn't hear her laughing.

"It's not that funny" Mark sighed with a reluctant smirk, with her head buried Lexie couldn't see him smiling anyway.

"No, you're absolutely right Mark, there is nothing funny about it at all" Lexie agreed, coming up out of the covers she tried really hard not to laugh at him.

"And now you're mocking" Mark commented with a scowl, "you should know little Grey that I'm not particularly fond of women who mock me in bed".

Propped up on her elbow Lexie leaned forward and slowly kissed Mark, "trust me after last night there will definitely be no mocking of Mark Sloan".

"Uh huh" Mark scoffed.

"I'm serious" Lexie laughed before another kiss, "there will be no mocking" she promised in between kisses.

"Why don't I believe you?" Mark questioned his girlfriend sceptically, she had that same _would I ever lie to you _look that Callie knew how to pull off whenever she wanted something from Mark.

Clearing her throat to try and shake away the giddiness Lexie sat up straight and faced Mark. Raising her left hand in the air Lexie placed her right hand on top of her heart, "I Lexie Grey solemnly swear that I shall never mention the incident of the Nurses United against Mark Sloan incident nor shall I ever mock him in the vicinity of a bedroom".

Propping himself up Mark eyed Lexie dubiously while deep down he was trying not to laugh his head off at how unbelievably adorable and attractive she looked.

After finally getting over his own anxiety's last night Mark couldn't believe that he had wasted so much time. He had had his fair share of woman so that's why he could say without a doubt that last night had been the best sex Mark Sloan had ever had.

"How about we change it to no mocking in general" Mark suggested with a seductive smile, hoping that the McSteamy face would convince Lexie to cave.

Pushing Mark back down onto the bed her warm soft body brushed against him as she straddled him. Her fingers roamed across his bare chest, tracing over every line and muscle that she could feel. "Don't push your luck" Lexie whispered softly before she deliberately brushed up against him and kissed Mark.

Deepening the kiss Mark felt the blood rush through his entire body at hearing the small moan escape from within Lexie. He never really cared for the moans and groans that most women made but with Lexie it was different.

With Lexie there was something primal about hearing her react to his touch or respond to his advances, it urged him on and only made him want more.

Wearing nothing more than Mark's shirt Lexie moaned his name while his hands began a slow slide up her bare thighs, coming to rest on her hips. Seizing her mouth in a vicious kiss, he flipped them over, leaving Lexie at his mercy beneath him.

Sliding her hands up around his neck Lexie wrapped her legs around his waist in a death grip. Moulding her body more closely to Mark's, she moved her hips slowly against his, eliciting a groan from him.

Dipping his head he kissed her gently on the lips. Lexie opened her mouth to him, his tongue sliding into her warm mouth while his hands were busy trying to find a way to get his shirt off of Lexie without having to actually separate their mouths.

Closed off from the rest of the world and completely tuned out to everything but each other neither one of them heard a knock on the bedroom door.

"Hey Lexie do you want…woah" Callie cried out and quickly slammed the door shut, "sorry, oh god I'm so sorry" she yelled out through the solid door.

Lying on top of Lexie and with her legs still wrapped around his waist Mark looked over his shoulder at the door and growled, "Torres haven't you ever heard of knocking".

"Sorry" Callie yelled out again in embarrassment because the last thing she needed or wanted was to walk in on the two them.

Burying her face in the nook on his neck Lexie tried to stifle a giggle because she could see that Mark was annoyed with his best friend/girlfriend's roommate.

Letting out a deep breath Lexie tightened her arms around him, gently raking her fingernails in idle strokes up and down his back to try and ease the tension out of him.

"Sorry" Callie apologised again, "I was just going to ask Lexie if she wanted breakfast because I'm cooking. So uh, do you…I mean do the two of you want breakfast" Callie stumbled her way through an explanation.

Shaking her head Lexie couldn't hold it in any longer and she laughed loud enough to get Mark's attention; he shot her a playful glare because he didn't find the interruption very amusing.

Swallowing a laugh Lexie took a deep breath, "we'll be out in a few seconds" she yelled over Mark's shoulder loud enough for Callie to hear through the door.

Mark furrowed his brow as he look down at Lexie, "seconds" he repeated sourly. "I'm good but I'm not that good Lex, I'm gonna need at least a couple of _minutes_ to work my magic" Mark pointed out with a seductive grin.

Running her fingers through his hair Lexie smiled at Mark apologetically, "I'm sorry but you're going to have to work your magic later tonight".

He chuckled and lightly kissed the tip of her nose because Mark was certain that she was just teasing him.

Loosening the grip that her legs had on Mark's waist Lexie playfully slapped his chest, "come on up you get".

Mark frowned in displeasure, "you're not joking" he pointed out disappointedly.

Shaking her head a small smile graced her lips, "no I'm not joking" she confirmed. "We got distracted last night with other things and I never got to eat dinner so the last meal I had was noon yesterday…"

"We don't have to be at the hospital for another 2 hours" Mark pointed out with a seductive grin, "do you really want to waste that time eating breakfast?"

After giving him a chaste kiss that she was certain wouldn't lead anywhere Lexie smiled, "well I don't have a choice unless you want me passing out in the middle of the O.R. because I haven't had enough sustenance" Lexie teased.

Claiming her mouth before she could continue Mark kissed her passionately. Completely forgetting about Lexie's appetite he deepened the kiss, sweeping his tongue across her lips to gain entry.

With a small sigh of pleasure Lexie linked her arms around his neck and held on tightly. Gasping for air as Mark's mouth moved from her lips to her throat Lexie arched her back as he pulled her body up against his to try and satisfy both their cravings for contact.

Lexie knew that they didn't have time to be fooling around but her body always sprang in response to Mark's touch. Just being near him sent her head into a tail spin let alone feeling his lips brush up against hers.

They both heard another knock and the sound of Callie's voice again, "breakfast's ready" she called out.

They drew apart after a few moments; resting foreheads together Mark closed his eyes while trying to catch his breath because it felt like his lungs were about to explode from the lack of air.

"I'm gonna kill that woman" he growled vehemently with a seething look.

**************

"Morning" Callie chanted from the kitchen island with an apologetic smile, or at least hoping that it looked apologetic.

Walking straight past her to grab a cup of coffee Mark didn't say a word and completely ignored the plate of bacon and eggs that Callie was offering him.

"So what now you're not talking to me?" Callie asked with a raised eyebrow, she was really struggling not to laugh at his childish behaviour.

Still ignoring her Mark sat down at the kitchen bench with his cup of coffee and wordlessly took the plate of food off of Callie's hands and dug in.

"Look I'm sorry that I walked in on you ok but in my defence I didn't even know that you spent the night" Callie argued.

Walking around the island Callie pulled up beside Mark and leant against his bare shoulder, "besides you can't stay mad at me forever…you can't stay mad at your best friend" she snivelled with pouted lips.

With his fork mid air Mark looked at Callie out of the corner of his eye, reluctantly he gave her a half smile and shook his head. He knew that Callie was right because no matter what the other one did they would always forgive each other.

"Fine your forgiven" Mark sighed pretending like it was some huge laborious task that would really put him out.

With a beaming smile Callie gave Mark a quick kiss on the check and ruffled his hair, "also I just wanted to say welcome to the party" she spoke softly in reference to their conversation yesterday morning.

With a knowing smile on his face Mark nodded his head, they hi-fived each other in victory before Callie finished making breakfast.

"Morning" Lexie greeted the two of them with a bright and bubbly smile as she made a beeline straight for the coffee.

"Morning little Grey" Callie answered back. "Here's your breakfast" she told Lexie while holding out a bowl of fruit toped with vanilla yogurt.

Sliding onto the barstool next to Mark Lexie thanked her roommate and took the offered food eagerly.

Callie laughed at the rumbling sound that was coming from Lexie's stomach, "did Mark forget to feed you last night?" she questioned Lexie with a teasing smile.

"We were a bit distracted" Mark answered huffily before taking another a bite full of eggs.

"Yeah I saw for myself just how distracted you two can get" Callie teased with a smirk.

Dropping her head down in shame Lexie shook her head; she could feel her cheeks burning up. She wasn't accustomed to having people walk in on her just as she was about to have sex and pretend like nothing happened.

A comfortable silence took over the room just as Arizona walked in to the kitchen; she stopped when she noticed a shirtless Mark sitting at the kitchen bench sipping his coffee.

Standing behind Mark and Lexie who were both oblivious to her presence, Arizona pointed at Mark. _Did he_ she mouthed suggestively to her girlfriend who quickly nodded her head.

Also nodding her head in approval Arizona let out a wide smile before greeting Mark and Lexie with her usual bright and shiny demeanour.

Watching her girlfriend's every move Callie wondered how the hell she and Mark had ended up with people who were so bright and shiny. Not that she would ever compare herself to Cristina Yang or Meredith Grey, Callie knew that sometimes she could be dark and twisty…and the last year had definitely been a dark and twisty one for her.

"So Lexie I have an eight year old little boy suffering from ventricular septal defect and we're taking him into surgery this morning, you want in?" Arizona offered kindly.

Lexie opened her mouth to speak but she couldn't because she was too excited, it would be her first cardiac surgery since beginning work at Seattle Grace. With an excited smile Lexie tried to find the words to say yes when she was reminded of her Resident.

"You should probably ask Dr. Yang to scrub in with you" Lexie suggested glumly.

Mark, Callie and Arizona all looked at Lexie with a furrowed brow, "why would I want to ask Dr. Yang to scrub in with me?" Arizona asked in confusion.

"Because she's my Resident, she's my boss…a boss who happens to be hardcore when it comes to cardio. She's probably already waiting for you at the hospital holding onto the patient's chart for dear life" Lexie explained.

She hated the fact that she was giving up an incredible surgery for Cristina Yang but she knew her Resident by now. Lexie knew the hell she'd have to pay when Cristina found out that her Intern was scrubbing in on cardio and she wasn't.

"Well I'm the head of Peads and that means _I _get to choose who scrubs in on my surgeries and I want you" Arizona declared resolutely. "Besides while there's no question about Dr. Yang's surgical skills…"

"She scares little kids" Mark mumbled through a bite of toast.

"Mark" Lexie gasped, nudging him in the arm to shut up before he gets her in trouble.

"What" Mark argued back in confusion, "I'm only telling the truth. Hell Yang scares me sometimes let alone little kids who are sick".

"Well it's still not a very nice thing to say about someone" Lexie pointed out.

Leaning across Mark kissed her softly on the cheek, "do you even have _one _bad bone in your body?" he asked teasingly.

It was one of the many things he loved about her, the fact that she could find the good in everyone or that she refused to belittle and speak ill of anyone even if she didn't like them. Lexie had this sweet, innocent approach to everyone who crossed her path and sometimes Mark couldn't understand how she did it.

"Well are you in or are out?" Arizona asked with a hopeful smile. Her patient really had been having a rough time and she knew that Lexie would help to cheer him up.

"You really want me on your services today?" Lexie asked sceptically.

"I really want you working on this case today" Arizona stated firmly, "he's a scared little boy who doesn't really understand what's going on or what's ahead for him. And I think that having someone who is warm and caring like you will help make this whole ordeal a little bit easier on him".

Embarrassed yet honoured that an Attending would think so highly of her not only as a surgeon but as a person made Lexie smile timidly.

"Then I guess I'm in" Lexie declared with a smile.

"Great" Arizona sighed in relief while running around the apartment trying to get things together so she could leave. "Maybe we could grab a drink afterwards" she suggested, "since Mark and Callie have late surgeries we may as well kill sometime".

"Sure sounds great" Lexie quickly agreed because she really did like hanging out with Arizona. It was nice knowing that they could get along so well when Mark and Callie were best friends.

"Ok and I have to go too" Callie declared when her pager went off.

"You come with me" Arizona stated, offering Callie her jacket while turning to Lexie. "And you wait for me in Peads in 20 minutes ok" she ordered Lexie before pulling her girlfriend out the door.

"Mind if I use the shower?" Mark asked Lexie while taking the last bite of his breakfast.

"It's all yours" Lexie answered. Making her way over to the sink with all the dirty dishes in her hands she didn't see Mark following her.

As soon as the dishes were dropped into the sink he grabbed Lexie by her hips and threw her up over his shoulder.

"What are you doing…Mark put me down" Lexie protested while playfully hitting his bare back. "Mark I have to be at the hospital in 20 minutes" she squealed in laughter.

"I only need 15" Mark declared before kicking the bathroom door shut with his foot.

**************

Slipping into the chair opposite Lexie Arizona popped a grape in her mouth and chewed with a teasing smile.

"What?" Lexie asked; she was completely conscious of the fact that people had been stairing at her all day…especially when she walked into the cafeteria.

Working with Arizona had been great and the surgery went smoothly but Lexie felt like everybody was watching her and the paranoia began to kick in.

She had even convinced herself at one point that people had figured out what was going on between her and Mark but didn't that make sense to Lexie. She figured that her fellow interns would have made a comment by now about it.

"So what's this I hear about you having your eyes set on Dr. Shepherd?" Arizona questioned Lexie.

"_What" _Lexie hissed in disbelief, that'd been the last question she had expected to come from anyone let alone Arizona Robbins.

"Well I only ask because apparently there was some heavy flirting going on before" Arizona stated while trying to act all serious.

"Flirting" Lexie repeated in disbelief, "me _flirting_…I don't flirt with men…well I, I flirt. But I flirt with _one_ man, I do not flirt with other men" she rambled.

Arizona giggled at Lexie; "well as far as all the nurses' are concerned you my dear are the other woman".

"How did having one conversation with Derek Shepherd this morning make me the other woman?" Lexie asked because she was completely baffled by this. "All we did was talk…"

"And you laughed at something that Shepherd said, you leant closer towards him and tucked your hair behind your ear" Arizona recalled the latest rumour with a teasing smile.

"_That's _why the nurses' think I'm after Derek; because I laughed at a story he was telling me about when he and Mark were little kids?" Lexie asked resentfully.

"And the hair…"

"There was no leaning in closer or tucking my hair behind my ear whatsoever" Lexie stated firmly. "He is my half-sister's fiancé and while Meredith and I might not talk I'm sure as hell not about to sink to the level of home wrecker. I don't want McDreamy; Meredith Grey can have her McDreamy because I have my McSteamy"

"Well maybe that's the problem" Arizona suggested but was only met with a confused look on Lexie's face. "What I mean is that you and Mark have somehow miraculously managed to keep your relationship a secret from the rest of the hospital…maybe if they knew about you and Mark they'd drop the whole you and Derek thing".

Taking a sip off her bottled water Lexie scoffed at Arizona's suggestion, "are you kidding me. If the nurses knew about me and Mark it would only make the me and Derek thing ten times worse".

"Exactly how would that happen?"

"How" Lexie repeated, "umm let's think about shall we…ooh I know, the nurses would be telling everyone that I don't actually like Mark but that I'm sleeping with him to make Derek jealous. And then by the end of the day Mark and Derek will have gotten into this huge fist fight over me and then not only would I be this home wrecker, I would be this home wrecker who destroyed a 20 year friendship" Lexie explained.

"Point taken" Arizona agreed because the scary thing was she could actually see that happening. The gossiping in Seattle Grace almost terrified Arizona sometimes.

"Ok why don't we talk about something else…something much more exciting" Arizona suggested with a knowing smile.

"Exciting how?" Lexie asked while trying to keep a straight face because she knew exactly what Arizona was getting at.

"Oh I don't know maybe about a certain double-board certified surgeon who was sitting in the kitchen half naked this morning at 7am" Arizona mentioned casually like it was no big deal.

Shaking her head Lexie finally cracked and smiled proudly at Arizona, she still couldn't believe that it had happened or that Mark had _chosen _to be with her in a serious relationship.

"We didn't…"

"And if you're about to tell me that you two didn't have sex last night then you can forget about it" Arizona interrupted, "Callie told me about how she walked in on you two".

Throwing her head back Lexie groaned in embarrassment, "this is so not fair and completely humiliating" she pouted.

"It's not that humiliating and besides just imagine if it had been you who walked in on me and Callie" Arizona argued.

"Is that supposed to make me feel better?" Lexie asked with a playful glare.

"No you're right, you wouldn't enjoy walking in on us as much as Mark would" Arizona teased and managed to get a laugh out of Lexie. "Ok so tell me was it worth the wait...did Mark Sloan actually live up to his reputation?" she asked with a mischievous smile.

Trying to look at anything other than Arizona Lexie shrugged her shoulders, "it was okay" she answered.

"Okay" Arizona repeated in disbelief; "you expect me to believe that sex with Mark Sloan was just ok?"

"Why are you so interested in this anyway?" Lexie asked with a hint of doubt in her voice.

"Because you're my friend…potentially an even great friend and friends are supposed to take an interest in each other's personal lives" Arizona answered sincerely.

Lexie considered Arizona for a second and agreed; she really could use a friend outside of her roommate and boyfriend. "Truthfully it was amazing…it was the best sex I've ever had" she answered with a beaming smile.

"Well the best sex always does happen when it's with the person you love" Arizona commented. Dropping her head down to take a bite of her lunch she didn't see all the colour from Lexie's face fade away.

"What did you say?" Lexie asked hoarsely while panic began to set in. She knew that she had cared deeply for Mark…that he was; he meant more to her then any of her previous boyfriends.

But Lexie Grey had refused to entertain the fact that she might be falling in love with Mark Sloan because she was worried that it would push him away. Lexie had always worn her heart on her sleeve and she knew that if she admitted to falling in love then it would be the most obvious thing…and something told her that Mark wouldn't be that thrilled.

"I said that it always means more when it's with the person you love" Arizona repeated hesitantly because she could see the panic. "Lexie you do love him don't you, I mean you see this going somewhere right?" she questioned the intern seriously.

_You see this going somewhere?_ Lexie repeated the question in her head, she didn't understand how the blond Attending had managed to ask the two questions that Lexie had been trying to avoid.

Lexie could see all of this going somewhere, she saw a future with Mark but that didn't mean she knew where Mark saw this going…Mark was the wild card in this whole relationship.

"Lexie Mark's changing…he's growing and it's because of you, it's because he wants to be somebody that you can be proud of. But if you don't…"

"I love him" Lexie suddenly declared. She paused thinking that any second now it was all about to come crashing down around her but nothing happened. Letting out a sigh of relief Lexie smiled, it actually felt good to be able to admit it.

"So what's this I hear about my girlfriend and my best friend running off into the sunset together?" Mark asked Lexie as he sat down with his lunch; completely oblivious to the fact that he ad just interrupted something.

Silently promising to Lexie that she wouldn't say a thing Arizona turned her attention to him, "why are you jealous?" she asked with a teasing smile.

Mark scoffed, "nope" he answered before taking a bite of his salad.

Going along with the joke Lexie pretended to be serious, "so you have no problem with the fact that Derek asked me to marry him and move back to New York so we can have a house full of little Shepherds?"

"Like I said no problem at all" Mark answered casually, "especially since Meredith will kill Derek before the two of you have a chance to skip town".

"Well as much fun as this is I have to go and find the Chief" Arizona excused herself and left the cafeteria.

Lexie opened her mouth to say something when she was cut off by intern Steve, "Dr. Sloan you let interns sit with you" the intern declared in surprise before he and three other interns sat down at the table.

Lexie took a breath and looked at Mark apologetically; she knew that he had a low tolerance level for interns.

"Hey guys they have tatter tots" one of the interns exclaimed in excitement.

Mark screwed the bottle cap back on tightly and squeezed the water bottle while he tried to bite his tongue. Having lunch with interns that he didn't know or like wasn't his idea of fun.

"I have to go" Mark announced and quickly rose from his seat with his lunch in hand.

Lexie opened her mouth to say sorry but quickly closed it again because she knew that the interns would start asking questions if she did.

Watching Mark leave the cafeteria Lexie let out a faint smile, taking a mental note to make it up to him later tonight.

**************

Sitting at the bar with a drink in her hand Lexie was trying really hard not to slap the creep that wouldn't seem to get the message. He'd been flirting with her for the last half hour with no success but he was relentless.

"So maybe we could…"

"No" Lexie answered firmly looking straight ahead; she didn't want to look at him in case the guy got the wrong idea.

"Well we could…"

"Look I'm sure you're a nice guy but I have a boyfriend" Lexie sighed, she was quickly getting tired of the creep who didn't seem to be the slightest bit phased by the mention of a boyfriend.

"The boyfriend's only a problem if you want him to be" the guy stated with this weird, creepy smirk that wasn't anything like Mark's smirk.

Lexie cringed while trying not to laugh at his smirk, she really was hoping that Arizona or Mark would magically appear to get rid of this guy but Lexie knew that wasn't going to happen because they were tied up with surgeries.

Her saviour was the most unlikely person of all and thinking back on it in a few days time Lexie still wouldn't be able to believe what happened.

"Look buddy she said she wasn't interested and she has a 6f't strongly built boyfriend who's quite the jealous type and will kick your ass so get lost" Meredith ordered.

Standing in between Lexie and the creep with her arms crossed and a glaring look she waited for the man to walk away. When she first saw it Meredith planned to just ignore it and pretend like Lexie wasn't even there.

But seeing how uncomfortable her Lexie was it was getting harder to ignore, she couldn't explain it but Meredith had this urge to help.

Mumbling an apology the guy quickly ran off in complete fear of Meredith with his tail between his legs and left the bar before he ran into the said boyfriend.

"Thanks" Lexie stated awkwardly because she didn't know why Meredith had just done that or how she knew about her and Mark.

Meredith shrugged her shoulders, "it's no big deal I'm just waiting for Derek" she explained before ordering another drink from Joe and one for Lexie though she didn't understand why.

"Thanks" Lexie mumbled and took a sip from her new drink.

Awkwardly nodding her head Meredith really didn't have anything else to say; "well see you around" she spoke and turned to leave.

"Meredith" Lexie called out, having a conversation wasn't the idlest situation for either of them but there was this nagging question. "How did you know…I mean how did you know about me and Mark?"

Skulking back over to the bar Meredith shrugged her shoulders, "my fiancé and your boyfriend talk…we might not talk but they do and they are best friends".

Nodding her head in understanding Lexie took another sip of her drink, this was the longest conversation she'd ever had with her sister.

Deciding that the conversation was over Meredith turned to walk away but stopped, "I know that you're not after Derek" she blurted out.

"Thank you I guess…" Lexie trailed with a frown, she didn't know what she was supposed to say because she had put that behind her.

"I just thought you should know that I didn't buy any of what the nurses were trying to sell…I know that you'd never do something like that" Meredith explained.

Lexie finally looked Meredith in the eyes and studied her; she wasn't sure how she was supposed to take that. But with Meredith Lexie decided to take it one step at a time and not try to force herself into her sister's life.

"Derek's a great guy and I really hope he makes you happy" Lexie replied sincerely.

Meredith smiled faintly, "well I hope you know what you're doing with Sloan…"

"I do" Lexie jumped in, "I know exactly what I'm doing" she answered with a smile.

Nodding their heads in understanding that there was a growing shift in their relationship, however small it was; Meredith made her way back over to Derek who had just showed up.

Twirling her straw around in her drink Lexie waited for Arizona, hoping that she'd get there before the creep decided to come back.

She couldn't explain the how or the why but Lexie knew that he was standing right behind her…she could sense him and that made her feel safe.

"Can I buy you a drink?" Mark whispered in her ear.

"I already have one" Lexie answered, twirling around in her seat to face him she held her drink up to show him.

With a seductive grin on his face Mark took the glass from Lexie and put it down, never taking his eyes off of Lexie for a single second. Trapping her against the bar he dipped his head and Mark kissed her gently on the lips for all to see.

A few seconds later Lexie pushed him away with a faint smile, "Mark" she laughed in embarrassment.

"Is there a problem little Grey?" Mark whispered with a sly grin.

Turning her head to the side to avoid looking at him Lexie shook her head no, his smile always seemed to be her undoing and it made it impossible for her to be mad at him.

"The problem is that you just kissed" Lexie stated in a whisper.

"So"

"So, so practically half of Seattle Grace is in this bar right now and after seeing us kiss the other half will definitely know by tomorrow morning that I'm dating my boss" Lexie argued.

"Is that a problem?" Mark asked with a furrowed brow. He never considered the idea that Lexie might be ashamed of him or their relationship.

"I just…I thought we agreed to keep this between us" Lexie reminded him. "Do we really want the _entire _hospital knowing everything about our personal lives?"

"And that's it, that's your only problem with me kissing you in public…you don't want to be the new Derek and Meredith?" Mark asked.

Taking a second to think about his question Lexie furrowed her brow in confusion, "what else is there?" she asked.

Shrugging his shoulders and leaning forward Mark kissed her again only this time with more passion and hunger then the one before that. Lexie quickly pushed Mark away and buried her face in his chest at the sound of all the whistling and cheering.

"Well at least now they all know" Mark whispered in her ear while stroking her hair gently in comfort.

Tilting her head back Lexie looked up at Mark in confusion, "know what?" she asked.

Gently stroking her face Mark smiled, "that you're with me" he stated firmly.

"Ok where did this sudden Neanderthal possessiveness come from?" she questioned him while trying not to laugh at Mark.

Mark shrugged his shoulders; he was trying to let it go…trying to not let it bother him but it did bother him, it had been bothering him all day.

Looking into her eyes Mark could see her pleading with him to tell her truth and Mark couldn't help but smirk at that. A few months ago Mark would have made up some excuse and thought of a way out of this conversation.

But not now because things were different, now Mark wanted to be open and honest with Lexie…he wanted her to know what he was thinking and feeling and he was pretty sure that Dr. Wyatt would be proud of that.

"I just got sick of listening to people tell me all day about how my best friend and my girlfriend were planning on running away together" Mark answered truthfully.

At any other time Lexie would have laughed at Mark and made a joke but she could see the vulnerability in his eyes. She could see that Mark was trying to tell her something, she could see that he was worried and uncomfortable all at the same time.

After weeks of long conversations Lexie had learnt just how much of a sore spot Derek Shepherd was in Mark's life. Mark loved the man like a brother but he always felt like he wasn't good enough…that he'd never be bale to compete with Derek. And having that same person running off with your girlfriend didn't do anything to help ease that insecurity.

Wrapping her arms around his neck Lexie pulled Mark closer to her, "I thought that Meredith was going to kill Derek before we could make our great escape" she teased in the hopes of easing his tension away.

Mark smiled lovingly because he knew exactly what Lexie was trying to do and it was working. Dipping his head down to kiss her he stopped with his lips only an inch away from hers.

"Am I allowed to kiss you or does it really bother you that people would know about us?" Mark asked, trying to play it off like he really didn't care what her answer was.

"You kissing me is definitely something that will _never _bother me" Lexie declared firmly; "as for the others…screw them. If they have a problem with us then it's their problem not ours and besides we're not hurting anyone".

"I like the way you think little Grey" Mark whispered before kissing her long and hard, "we should get out of here" he suggested with a cheeky grin.

"I'm supposed to be meeting Arizona" Lexie pointed out. She felt bad about the idea of bailing on Arizona, especially since she knew what a rough day the Attending had had.

"Oh yeah I'm supposed to give you a message" Mark remembered; "she's not coming. Callie's patient died and she's not taking it to well so Robbins was gonna take Callie back to her place".

Downing the rest of her drink Lexie rose of her seat just as Joe made his way over to them, "can I get you another?"

"No thanks Joe we're gonna head off" Mark answered, throwing a fifty onto the bar to pay for Lexie's drink.

Looking over her shoulder at Meredith, who was laughing at something Derek had just said, Lexie smiled because things were starting to look up. "That's also for Meredith's drinks and keep the change" Lexie informed Joe before pulling Mark out of the bar.

"Mind telling me why I just paid for big Grey's drinks?" Mark asked with a furrowed brow.

Lexie stopped walking and pulled Mark closer, linking her arms around his waist she smiled.

"Well…" Mark trailed.

"I owed her one" Lexie answered and kissed him before Mark could ask anymore questions. Seeing the confused look on his face Lexie just smiled and pulled him across the street, completely ignoring his whinging.

**************

**Reviews welcomed, I really do appreciate feedback :-) **


	11. Lonely With a Broken Heart

**************

**Lonely With a Broken Heart**

"Where is he?" Lexie demanded charging into Dr. Wyatt's office like a raving mad woman.

"Dr. Grey…" she protested.

"Don't" Lexie ordered the psychiatrist with a stern look and a finger.

"Now I've tried to be patient and I've tried to be understanding but quite frankly lady I'm all out of patience. So I'm only going to ask once…where the hell is my boyfriend" she exclaimed pacing up and down the office.

"You know I can't tell you that" Dr. Wyatt answered calmly yet firmly.

Shaking her head at the woman's lack of co-operation Lexie continued to pace up and down the length of the office while trying to get her anger and frustration under check.

Mark had been gone for nearly 6 weeks and Lexie hadn't heard so much as a word from him. She didn't know where he was or who he was with and Lexie was quickly beginning to run out of patience.

Things had been going great between the two of them until Lexie spoke without thinking one night and told Mark that she was in love with him. The instant she had said those words Lexie knew that she'd screwed up big time, she could see the fear in the Mark's eyes…not to mention the fact that he couldn't get out of her apartment fast enough.

For the next few days Mark avoided Lexie like the plague and she didn't let it get to her, she accepted the fact that he probably needed his space to try and get his head around it…but 6 weeks was going a bit far.

Lexie had tried to comfort herself with the fact that he'd be back, that he'd call her as soon he got to where ever it is he was going because he had promised he would…at least that's what the note said. But 6 weeks later and she still hadn't heard anything from him, he was avoiding her.

"That is the same answer you've been giving me for the last 6 weeks…"

"And yet you insist on coming in here every other day to ask me that exact same question despite the fact you know what my answer will be" Dr. Wyatt argued.

"Well excuse me for wanting to know where my boyfriend is….for wanting some reassurance that he isn't lying dead in a ditch somewhere" Lexie threw back at the psychiatrist sarcastically.

"Why don't you take a seat and we can talk" Wyatt suggested with a sweet smile.

"It's pointless in the two of us having a _little chat_ since you're not going to tell me what it is I wanna hear" Lexie told her.

"I think it would do you some good".

"We don't have anything to talk about" Lexie stated coldly.

"Contrary to what you believe I think we do, I think we need to discuss why you had this sudden need to tell Mark that you love him" Dr. Wyatt contended.

"Seriously" Lexie exclaimed throwing her hands up in the air, "you are not seriously going to blame me for Mark's choice to suddenly take off without so much as a goodbye".

"I'm not saying that and Dr. Grey you know that I can't discuss the reasons behind Mark's absence…it would completely go against doctor/patient confidentiality".

Lexie scoffed at the irony of the psychiatrist's comment, "you didn't seem to have a problem discussing your _patient _when you were telling me to back off" she counter argued.

Dr. Wyatt let out a deep sigh, "Dr. Grey I'm sorry that you've gotten caught up in the middle of all of this but trust me when I tell you that when Mark's ready he'll come home".

"Yeah well I think I've been pretty patient up until know but I'm done with being patient" Lexie declared before storming out of the office.

**************

"Hey Joe can I get another" Lexie ordered waving her empty glass up in the air.

"I think you've had enough" Joe argued eyeing Lexie unsurely.

"Come on Joe" she urged him with a pouted lip, "I've only had four and I'm still sober".

"How many fingers am I holding?" Joe asked holding up three fingers.

Lexie wasn't as inebriated as Joe thought she was but Lexie did have to concentrate more than usual in order to make out the three fingers.

"Fine" Joe sighed, "but after this one I'm cutting you off" he warned her.

"Joe beer" Alex growled sitting on the bar stool next to Lexie.

Looking at Alex Lexie could see the crazy, pissed off look in his eyes that was usually reserved for his interns. When Alex had that look in his eyes she knew to leave him alone.

"Why are all you women insane" Alex growled angrily before taking a sip of his beer.

"Trouble in paradise with Dr. Stevens" Lexie chanted with a dark, twisted smile…it felt good knowing that there was someone out there just as miserable as she was.

"It's like being with Dr. Jekyll and Dr. Hyde, every morning I wake up I don't know which I'm gonna get. It's like I have this magnet for crazy chicks….but you know what I'm done, I am _done_ with the crazy ones" Alex declared.

"Does Izzie know this?" Lexie questioned him sceptically.

She tried to ignore the fact that her eyes kept roaming over Alex's biceps and up the side of his neck towards his lips. Shaking her head Lexie reassured herself that the only reason she was ogling Alex like that was because of the 4 gin and vodka's that she'd had and her lack of human contact…she was missing Mark, yeah that's it.

"Yep" Alex answered with absolute certainty, "told her that if she couldn't stop acting like a crazy person for more than five seconds then we're done".

"Yeah well at least she's here for you to talk to" Lexie argued dryly. It was funny because up until her little talk with Dr. Wyatt she was filled with anger that was aimed directly at Mark.

But now the anger had been replaced with numbness, she couldn't feel anything towards Mark and Lexie didn't know what that meant and for the time being she didn't care…if he couldn't care to pick up the phone then she couldn't care about her feelings for him right now.

"Still no word from Sloan huh" Alex stated shaking his head in disbelief. Mark had managed to bag a good one, he had a girl that was the right kind of crazy and the moron just walked away without a word…_"idiot" _Alex mumbled loud enough for Lexie to hear.

"Nope" Lexie answered downing the last of her drink, "Joe" she called out again with a sweet innocent smile.

Joe looked at her sternly and was about to say no when Alex reassured him that he'd make sure Lexie got home safe. He didn't know why he did it because babysitting wasn't something Alex was in to but they could both use a friend right now.

"He won't even answer my phone call" Lexie declared, "everytime I call his cell it either goes to voicemail or rings out…he's avoiding me".

"He's an idiot that's what he is" Alex corrected Lexie before finishing off his beer and ordering another one. "I mean you're not so bad for a Grey, you're not as annoying as you look or as twisted as Meredith and Cristina".

Nodding her head Lexie let out a sad laugh that hadn't gone unnoticed by Alex, "what's so funny?"

Lexie let out another laugh as she thought about it again, "I was just thinking about how sad it is that that's the nicest thing anyone has said to me in the last 6 weeks" she explained with a flirty smile while her fingers moved to tuck a piece of hair behind her ear.

"Yeah well talking to you has been the highlight of my week" Alex laughed humourlessly, "how pathetic is that".

"Gee thanks" Lexie smiled sarcastically at him.

"Hey I meant what I said…Sloan's an idiot" Alex declared with a seductive smile as his finger lightly brushed against the side of Lexie's hand.

"Yeah where ever he is" Lexie stated glumly, the numbness was quickly being replaced by sorrow.

"You get lost" Callie ordered.

Coming out of nowhere she pulled Alex up off the bar stool and pushed him as far away from Lexie as physically possible, she didn't like how close together they were sitting or the way Alex kept eyeing Lexie.

"What the hell is your problem Torres?" Alex growled; he was really starting to get fed up with women.

"My _problem _is that you're getting a little bit too cosy with little Grey over there and may I remind you that she has a _boyfriend_".

Shaking his head Alex scoffed at the Orthopaedic surgeon, "you mean an ass that isn't even here and can't even be bothered to pick up the phone when she calls" he argued.

Alex's come back instantly shut Callie up because she didn't have an answer for that. Despite having spoken a few times to Mark he still refused to tell her where he was and Mark ignored her pleas to speak to Lexie.

"Forget it I'm out of here" Alex declared, downing the rest of his beer he threw a twenty dollar bill on to the bar and grabbed his jacket.

"Lexipedia if you need a friend to talk to you know where to find me" he reminded Lexie before leaving the bar, but he and Lexie both knew that he meant more than just talk.

"Why the hell did you do that?" Lexie bellowed with an angry look directed at Callie.

"I was saving you" Callie answered bluntly.

"I don't need saving" Lexie spat out bitterly before downing the rest of her drink.

"Yes you do because even though you might not be willing to admit it you and Karev were about to cross a line and there's no going back from that" Callie argued calmly because she didn't see the point in getting angry with a drunk Lexie.

As much as she wanted to hate Lexie for flirting with another man Callie couldn't blame her, she couldn't blame Lexie when said girl had no idea where her boyfriend was.

"Maybe I wanted to cross that line" Lexie challenged her roommate, "did you even think of that huh? Did it ever occur to you that maybe I _didn't _want saving" she argued.

As she stood in the middle of Joe's bar arguing with Callie Lexie tried to ignore the shock that was running through her entire body…the shock at how pissed she was that Callie had interrupted them, but more importantly at the shock of how true her words were.

"You love Mark…"

"Mark isn't here…he hasn't been here for _6 weeks_ and Alex is" Lexie exclaimed throwing her hands up in the air and attracting everyone's attention. Shaking her head she let out a sigh, "he won't answer my calls or phone me back Callie so tell me what am I supposed to do huh?"

"Mark just needs time…"

"You know what everyone keeps telling me that Mark just needs time and I was willing to give him space when he could give me a reason why but now…now there's no reason and there's no _Mark_. So I'm sorry Callie but I've run out of time" Lexie declared brashly before storming out of the bar.

Pinching the bridge of her nose Callie made her way over to the bar and ordered a drink just as Derek walked over.

"Hey" Derek greeted her a little too cheerfully.

"Where's Mark?" she asked the Neurosurgeon coldly.

"Excuse me?" Derek laughed nervously because he hated all this lying.

"Cut the act Shepherd because I know that you know where Mark is so tell me where the hell is he?"

"What makes you think I know where he is?" Derek questioned Callie before taking a huge gulp of the drink Joe had just brought him.

"Because you're Mark Sloan's best friend…his _brother_, there's no way that Mark would take off without telling you where he's going" Callie argued.

Derek opened his mouth to argue that statement when they were interrupted by Meredith who stood next to Callie.

"Torres…"

"Listen to me Shepherd I have a roommate who's going out of her mind because she doesn't even know if her boyfriend's alive or dead. Mark won't answer her calls and everytime I suggest calling her he hangs up on me..."

"Even if I did know where he is what difference would it make?" Derek asked while eyeing Meredith out of the corner of his eye because he knew that this was bad, he knew that it would affect them just as much as it was going to affect Mark and Lexie.

"Maybe I could track a number down, I could try talking to him and make him see sense…or at the most it would give Lexie some comfort" Callie argued as she grasped for straws.

Shaking his head Derek took another sip of his drink, he had been cornered and there was no way out and Derek was silently cursing Mark for doing this to him.

"Trust me she _doesn't wanna know where Mark is_" Derek promised Callie.

"What's that supposed to mean Derek?" Meredith spoke for the first time.

Derek moved on to silently cursing Meredith because while she was silent he could forget that she was even there or what she was about to hear.

"Because he's in L.A. with Addison" Derek exclaimed, the anger at Mark and his childish behaviour finally being unleashed. But the second he spat out the words and turned to look at Callie and Meredith he was greeted with the sight of a sorrow looking Lexie.

"Lexie" he whispered loud enough for Callie and Meredith to turn on their heels.

"I just forgot my coat" Lexie stuttered as she grabbed the coat and tried to make an escape but was stopped by Callie.

"Lexie you don't know that he's…" Callie tried to argue in Mark's defence but shut up when Lexie began to shake her head.

"Yes I do" Lexie answered confidently, "it explains why he hasn't been answering any of my calls…I mean answering a phone call from his girlfriend would kind of kill the romantic vibe those two have going on down there" she joked bitterly.

The sorrow and numbness was long gone and the only thing left was anger…complete and unadulterated anger that was directed at Mark Sloan.

"Lexie he didn't mean to…." Derek tried to argue but stoped as soon as he saw the venom in Meredith's eyes.

"I'm done" Lexie declared, "I refuse to beg Mark to choose me, to love me, to pick me…I have enough self-respect to know when to walk away" she stated before leaving.

Stopping at the door Lexie quickly walked back over to the three of them looking pointedly at Derek, "and the next time you talk to Mark Sloan do me a favour and tell him there's no rush to get home because there won't be anything waiting for him when he gets back…oh you can also tell him to go to hell" she exclaimed before finally leaving.

Shaking her head Meredith turned to leave, "Mer where are you going?" Derek asked her.

"I'm going to make sure that my _sister's _okay Derek" Meredith spat out, the scars from Addison quickly resurfacing. "I happen to know a thing or two about being left behind for Addison Montgomery" she reminded him with a bitterly sweet smile.

"I'm gonna kill him" Derek growled dropping his head down on to the bar, the only comfort coming from Callie who was just as lost.

**************

"You know I was that girl" Meredith stated as she poured them both a shot of tequila. "I cornered Derek in a scrub room and begged him to pick me, to choose me and love me" she reminisced glumly, "but he chose her…he chose the devil".

"Men are asses" Lexie spat out bitterly before downing her tequila shot.

She'd lost count of how many shots Meredith had given her but she didn't care because it helped numb the pain. Lexie couldn't believe how stupid she'd been, how she had stupidly believed Mark when he told her that there was nothing left.

Lexie had fallen in love with the man and the second she told him he went running off into the arms of _Addison Montgomery_ Lexie thought acidly. She wanted to blame herself arguing that if she hadn't said I love you so early then this wouldn't have happened.

Lexie shook her head at the thought because despite the pain it was better this way, at least now she knew the truth before she let herself fall any deeper.

"They lie, and cheat, and pretend to be something they're not" Meredith slurred.

"Not Alex" Lexie murmured with an intoxicated smile, "with Alex you get what you see. He doesn't pretend to be something else or tell you that he wants to be a better man and then go running off with the woman he had an affair with".

"To Alex Karev" Meredith toasted holding her full shot glass in the air and offering Lexie hers.

"To Alex Karev; the only honest man left standing in Seattle Grace hospital" Lexie slurred before they both downed their shots.

Falling back against the couch Meredith laughed bitterly as her eyes roamed the ceiling of her living room, "you're handling this pretty well" she commended her sister.

"Getting drunk is handling this well?" Lexie questioned Meredith in a moment of clarity.

"Yeah well…well at least you haven't slept with anyone" Meredith argued, "after the devil arrived I pretty much spent every night getting drunk and sleeping with the nearest guy I could find".

Lexie laughed humourlessly at Meredith but her mind kept wondering back over to Alex and his passing comment about needing a friend.

"Why are you doing this?" Lexie questioned her sister; "why are you being so nice to me?"

"Because I know what it's like to be second best, to think that you were done with all the boys and all the bars and the obvious daddy issues…then he went and chose Addison" Meredith reminisced bitterly.

"But it all worked out in the end" Lexie comforted Meredith, "Derek chose you, he loves you and he picked you".

"Yeah in the end he picked me but before that I was a mess and Derek had left his scars, Bailey…Bailey once said I was a human traffic accident and that everybody was slowing down to see the wreckage" Meredith informed Lexie.

She leant forward to pour another shot but after grabbing the tequila bottle she paused. Looking back and forth between the bottle and the shot glass Meredith quickly dropped the glass gently and leant back into the couch with the bottle in hand.

"After Derek left me for Addison it was pretty hard to trust him, to trust _anyone _actually because he'd been the first person I trusted in a long time. And after what he did Derek had the nerve to accuse me of having trust issues" Meredith slurred before taking a huge swig of the bottle and passing it on to Lexie.

"Who could blame you" Lexie stated as she took a swig, "the lying, cheating bastards and their damn weakness for red hair…I mean what's so great about red hair" she stuttered as tequila dribbled down the side of her chin.

Meredith started to laugh uncontrollably as she watched her sister drunkenly wipe away the drool of tequila, "hey Lexie guess what?" she asked in a hushed whisper.

"What?" Lexie asked meekly, the alcohol was helping to numb the pain but it wasn't helping to make Lexie forget. She could still picture Mark and Addison in bed together in her Malibu home and as far as Lexie was concerned that meant more tequila was needed.

"We're drunk" Meredith exclaimed throwing her hand up in the air and continuing to laugh.

"Hey are we having a party in here or something?" Alex asked with a crooked smile, he couldn't help but laugh at the sight of the Grey sisters drunk.

"Nope we're celebrating" Meredith corrected Alex through a fit of giggling.

"So what are we celebrating?" Alex asked, taking the bottle of tequila from Lexie and sipping from it.

"Men and what complete asses they are" Lexie declared, quickly sobering up at the feel of Alex's hand brushing up against hers.

"Yeah well I'm off to bed" Meredith told them as she stood up off the couch, "you can crash here for the night Lexie" she stated before waving good night and heading up stairs.

Alex kept his eyes trained on Meredith until he could hear her stumbling up the staircase in a drunken haze before turning his attention back to Lexie.

Lexie was suddenly a lot sober then she had been a minute ago with Alex in the room. Feeling awkward and uncomfortable with being left alone with him she stumbled up off the couch, tripping on the corner of the table she was caught by Alex.

"So are you crashing here or what?" Alex asked casually like he couldn't care less but still hadn't let go of Lexie's arms and she didn't want him to either.

"That depends" Lexie slurred with a wide smile, something that she only seemed to do around Alex lately.

"On what" he asked as he guided Lexie back over to the couch.

"If I have a friend to talk to" Lexie told him hoping to remind Alex of his previous comment.

She wasn't sure if it was the alcohol or the realisation that Mark had hurt her but in that second Lexie felt wanted when she was around Alex and she had forgotten what that felt like.

"And why would you need a friend to talk to?" Alex asked with a seductive grin. He knew he was crossing a line that Mark would kill him for later but right now he didn't care, right now he just needed something that was other than crazy.

"Because I am done with two timing, cheating bastards who say that they want to be a better person but in the end only keep running back to Addison Montgomery" Lexie spat out drunkenly.

"He's with Addison" Alex sighed more as a statement then a question.

"Yep" Lexie confirmed for him; "apparently he and Derek thought that I might have a bit of an issue with Mark suddenly taking off to see the woman he had an affair with".

"He's an idiot"

"You already said that" Lexie laughed.

"Yeah I guess I did" Alex laughed with her and it felt nice to not have to deal with mood swings.

Lexie couldn't explain it exactly but suddenly her declaration that she was done with Mark meant more than she had ever thought it would. She was convinced that it would take awhile before she could even think about Mark and not feel the betrayal but in that moment she felt nothing for him, in that moment the only thing she felt was an urge to kiss Alex.

She crawled over to him and settled herself on his lap, linking her arms around the back of his neck. "I'm _done _with Mark Sloan, if he wants to go back to being a man whore then he can go ahead because I won't be waiting for him when he gets back" Lexie declared softly.

Leaning forward her lips brushed up against his in a chaste kiss that wasn't anything like Mark's but Lexie tried to push that thought into the back of her mind. Obviously he didn't have any problem sleeping with other people so why should she?

"Does Sloan know this?" Alex questioned her sceptically.

"Mark ended things between us the second he decided to get on that plane to see Addison" Lexie assured him bluntly.

"You're drunk" Alex countered back while trying to hide the frustration he felt for trying to stop her.

"Since when has being drunk ever stopped you before?" Lexie asked him with a seductive grin.

As her fingers trailed along the back of his neck she was reminded of the fierce, angry look on Mark's face when she has teased him about the prospect of sleeping with Alex. Leaning forward for the second time she kissed him fiercely and frantically, forcing her tongue in his mouth.

Deepening the kiss his grip tightened around Lexie's waist, he didn't need any more reassurance then that so Alex didn't need to think twice as he hauled them up off the couch and headed straight for the stairs.

With her lips glued to the side of Alex's neck Lexie's fingers moved frantically against the fabric of his shirt in search of skin. She could sense that they were moving and she knew exactly where they were head but Lexie didn't care, at least not for now.

If Mark wanted to sleep with Addison Montgomery he could go right ahead because she couldn't think of a better way to get over a broken heart than sleeping with the one man Mark couldn't stand…besides Alex knew it was just sex, neither of them was looking for something more.

They were just two lonely people with a broken heart trying to make themselves feel a little less lonely.

**************

**Ok first off I wanted to say I know that I suck for taking so long to update this story but I've been struggling to find some inspiration…writers block seems to have kicked in over the holidays. And I also know that there's going to be people who hate this chapter for what I've done but believe me when I say I had no choice. **

**I have spent the last 6 weeks (no joke) racking my brain trying to come up with a storyline other than this but it always kept creeping back in no matter what. I just hope that all of you out there will wait to see where this is going before you bring out the pitch forks lol. **

**Again I know that some of you may not like this but reviews would really be appreciated. **


	12. We Lost Our Way

_First off I just wanted to shout out a huge thank you to each and everyone of you that make the effort to review my stories everytime without fail. It's because of the continuous feedback that my mind ran away from me for this update.. _

_So I really hope that you all continue to read my stories and continue to be intrigued by them, but more importantly I hope that the reviews keep on coming. _

**************

**We Lost Our Way**

Watching for any sign that Alex might wake up Lexie tried as subtly as possible to crawl out of bed without disturbing him. Waking up in a different bed with a different man was disorientating to Lexie at first, but after watching Alex sleep for a few seconds she was harshly reminded of _why _she was in his bed and not Mark's.

Dressing as quickly as possible Lexie looked around the room in search of her car keys before she could make her escape, she really just needed to get the hell out of there before anyone saw her.

After finally spotting her keys on the floor Lexie picked them up in such a hurry that she didn't see the open draw and hit her head. The impact shook the entire chest of draws along with Alex's stuff sitting on top of it, Lexie froze in a panic.

While she may have done the one night stand on occasion in college Lexie had never cheated and she had never been good with the social interactions afterwards.

Patting down her coat pockets to make sure that she had everything that could leave a huge neon sign saying _Lexie was here_ she tip toed out of the room and quietly closed the door. As soon as she turned around she saw Meredith standing in the doorway of her bedroom dazed and speechless.

Meredith didn't know what to say because the last thing she had expected was to catch her little sister sneaking out of Alex's bedroom at 4am. She could see the pleading look in Lexie's eyes for Meredith to spare her the lecture, Lexie knew that she'd screwed up and she didn't need Meredith pointing out the obvious.

She was the last person to be lecturing her sister on the repercussions of cheating, she had been there and done that…she had been the dirty mistress once before, and it wasn't as if Mark was all innocent in this Meredith kept reminding herself.

With a faint smile Meredith silently nodded her head to reassure Lexie that she had her sister's loyalty and walked back into her room as if she hadn't seen a thing. But Meredith couldn't help thinking how they were more like each other than either one of them had thought.

The second the door closed Lexie let out a deep breath she didn't even know she was holding in and crept down the stairs. Being a novice in Meredith's house Lexie had no idea that the 3rd step from the ground floor squeaked rather loudly, she flinched at the sound of the loud squeak and looked up towards the top of the stairs to make sure no had one heard.

After reassuring herself that it was all clear Lexie jumped the remaining two stairs and made a bolt for the door. She was in such a hurry to get the hell out of there that she didn't notice Derek standing in the hallway only a few feet away.

**************

Parking her car Lexie made a run for it back to her apartment as quickly as possible while her mind kept going over everything that had happened yesterday.

From the second things started to get out of hand last night Lexie knew that she would end up regretting it in the morning and she did. Lexie hated the fact that she had cheated on Mark, she wasn't the type of person to cheat…it just wasn't in her nature.

But there was a small part, a very tiny part way, way, deep down inside of her that couldn't help not regretting it, especially since her mind repeatedly and cruelly reminded her of what brought it on in the first place.

Lexie didn't know what the next step was. Was she supposed to tell Mark, was she supposed to pick up the phone and leave a voicemail saying _hey Mark just wanted to let you know that I slept with Alex last night so I guess that makes us even_ Lexie thought sarcastically.

Or was she supposed to forget? Was she supposed to just wait for Mark to come home and pretend like none of it had happened…pretend like she hadn't slept with Alex or that she knew where Mark had really been?

She was so caught up with trying to figure what she was supposed to do next that her entire body ran on autopilot. Without even thinking Lexie opened the front door and shrugged out of her jacket, she threw her keys onto the kitchen bench and headed straight down the hallway while completely missing the large figure sitting on the couch.

"I went to the hospital" Mark called out from the darkened living room.

Lexie froze at the sound of his voice while her heart began to beat even faster at the sound of his voice. After six weeks she had almost forgotten what it sounded like.

"When I got here you weren't home so I went to the hospital thinking that you were on call but you weren't there either" Mark added flatly like the last 6 weeks never happened.

And suddenly the blinding rage that she had felt last night came back to the surface in full force. She didn't know what pissed her off the most, the fact that Mark was acting so cavalier about being with Addison or the fact that he had expected her to be waiting for him when he finally decided to come back.

Slowly walking over to the opposite side of the living room Lexie switched on the huge lamp that towered over the couch. Mark closed his eyes at the blinding light, trying to give them time to adjust because he had been use to the dark.

"I was at Meredith's" Lexie answered bluntly. She couldn't even recognise the sound of her own voice it was that cold and emotionless.

After finally laying eyes on Mark once again the anger she had felt was starting to melt together with the love she had felt for him. Lexie had kept repeating over and over again the night before that she was done with him, but that didn't mean she loved him any less. And seeing him for the first time in 6 weeks, having him only an arms length away reminded her of just how much she had loved this man.

So Lexie finally settled on feeling nothing.

She was torn between the hate and the love that she felt for Mark Sloan so Lexie decided to concentrate on the numbness she had felt when sitting at Joe's and held onto that feeling for dear life.

"Well it's great that the two of you are getting closer" Mark commented with a genuine smile. He wasn't sure how Lexie would react to his sudden return but so far it seemed to be going good as far as Mark was concerned.

He had never meant for any of this to turn out the way it did. Mark knew that he handled the situation and himself really badly but now he was just hoping that they could work past it.

Mark had tried calling Lexie, he had picked up the phone more times then he could count but everytime he went to punch in her number he froze. Mark didn't know what to say to her, he had freaked out and there was no other way to explain it.

The last thing Mark had ever expected was for Lexie to fall in love with him let alone say it out loud. Mark had always made peace with the fact that he was just unlovable, his parents couldn't love him and Addison couldn't love him so why would Lexie.

Mark had tried to figure it out on his own, tried to reconcile the fact that Lexie was in love with him but he couldn't. Mark knew that he had deep feelings for Lexie but he just wasn't sure how deep they went. He wasn't willing to say I love you just to make Lexie happy, Mark knew that that would hurt her more then if he said nothing.

He had even tried going over it with Dr. Wyatt and much to Mark's resentment he couldn't deny it anymore…the annoyingly blond psychiatrist was right, this had everything to do with Addison.

Mark believed that he had moved on from Addison; that everything they went through was in the past. But hearing Lexie say those words only drudged everything back up, it made him wonder if Addison…if the one woman who knew _every _horrible detail about him couldn't love him then why would Lexie?

He panicked. Mark Sloan had a full blown panic attack and decided that he needed to get the hell out of Seattle and give himself some space. He had left Lexie a note and took off without a second thought, Mark didn't have a plan.

All Mark knew was that he was scared of hurting Lexie and he needed to get away. And before he knew it Mark was buckling himself in for a flight to sunny California…L.A. to be exact.

He tried to block out the last 6 weeks of his life, hoping that if he did then Mark could pretend like none of it ever happened. But as he stood there in front of Lexie he knew that was asking for the impossible…he had screwed up big time and now it was time to suffer the consequences.

"Apparently we're more alike then either one of us thought" Lexie mused casually as she compared the events of last night to Meredith's story of how she had handled the Derek and Addison thing.

She really didn't want to be there anymore. She didn't want to think about the guilt that was slowly eating its way up on the inside or think about Mark and Addison together like the way he should have been with her.

Turning on her heel Lexie made a step to leave when Mark called out to her, they were the last words she wanted to hear from him.

"I'm sorry".

His words were left hanging in the air as Lexie thought it over. Wondering what he was apologising for exactly she felt compelled to turn around and was greeted with the sight of a sorrowful looking Mark.

Now came the point where Lexie had to decide what her next step would be. Should she pretend like she didn't know why he was apologising and pretend like the last 6 weeks never happened and lie to Mark about Alex? Or should she force the truth out of him, force him to relive every last second of his betrayal in the hopes of hurting him as much as he had hurt her.

Shaking her head Lexie was taken back, she had no idea where this angry, bitter woman had come from and it scared her. It was like an entirely different person had taken over her body and Lexie had no control what this woman did with it.

Lexie wasn't the vindictive type of person. She wasn't the type to cheat and lie and be malicious about it but she wanted to be. In that second Lexie wished that she could be less like Lexie Grey and more like….more like Cristina, someone who was able to push all her emotions aside and concentrate on the facts rather than the feelings.

"What for?" she asked. She was starting to get defensive because she could feel it, she could sense where this conversation was headed and in that moment Lexie had made the decision to lay all the cards out on the table…including Alex.

"For not calling" Mark answered as he rubbed the back of his neck nervously. There was something about the way Lexie was behaving that was off putting to Mark. It was like she was Lexie but wasn't at the same time and he didn't know how to handle this new Lexie.

"Really?" she asked disbelievingly, "that's the only thing you're apologising for?"

"What else is there?" Mark asked hoarsely, suddenly his throat went all dry and he felt rather claustrophobic.

"I don't know Mark why don't you tell me" Lexie encouraged with a sarcastic smile. She knew that this was out of character, that she was behaving way beyond the realm of real Lexie but she was determined to get the truth out of him.

It may not make a lot of sense to most people but she needed to hear him say it; she needed him to admit what he had done and show her some semblance of guilt over his actions.

She needed a reason to _not _hate him but right now Mark wasn't giving her any.

"Look I know that I said I'd call but things…things just got really messy way to fast and it was too late to go back" Mark tried to defend himself. Mark analysed the blank look on Lexie's face, he tried to decipher what she was thinking or feeling but he couldn't get anything from her.

Lexie had to stop herself from laughing at him bitterly. In his round about way Mark was apologising for what he had done without actually admitting it because he was too chicken to say the words out loud. Mark's apology only helped to chip away at the numbness Lexie was feeling and bring forth the anger.

She thought that she at least deserved the truth didn't she? Wasn't Lexie at least worth that much to Mark?

"Why did you even come back?" Lexie asked him flat out. That question had been sitting on the tip of her tongue from the second she realised he was there, and without even asking for permission her mouth just spat the question out as if she was asking how's the weather.

The question threw Mark off, the last thing he'd been expecting is for Lexie to question his return. In fact he'd been hoping, in his own selfish way, that she'd be happy to have him home but now Mark was finally getting a glimpse of just how much damage his absence had done and that was without Lexie knowing the worst of it.

"I woke up in the middle of the night and I just had this sudden urge to get the hell home as fast as possible" Mark answered truthfully hoping that his honesty would at least score him some brownie points.

"So that's it. You woke up in the middle of night and…poof, you had this sudden urge to come home and caught the first flight out here" Lexie repeated sarcastically.

Mark had made the conscious decision to try and pretend like it had never happened. He went to L.A. to get some answers from Addison and try to figure out how he felt about Lexie and he had done that, Mark knew without a doubt now what his feelings for Lexie were.

But it killed Mark knowing that it took him to do what he did to figure that out. He swore to himself that he wouldn't tell Lexie the truth about being in L.A. or about what happened with Addison. He wasn't doing it to save himself; he was doing it to save Lexie…to save _them _as a couple, or at least that's what he kept telling himself.

Pinching the bridge of her nose Lexie took a deep breath and let it out. She had to be at work in less than an hour and the fact she'd only gotten two hours sleep didn't help, neither did the massive hangover she was sporting.

Lexie didn't have the energy for this anymore or for the games. Last night she had made her decision that she was done with Mark and his '_Addison issues' _and she refused to change her mind.

She had meant what she said; she wasn't going to be Meredith. Lexie wasn't going to get down on her knees and beg Mark to pick her and love her because she had enough self-respect and whether he knew it or not Mark had already made his decision.

"Lexie I'm sorry…"

"Just stop" Lexie ordered with an exhausted look in her eyes, "just stop apologising because I am so tired of hearing it. You made your decision Mark…" she trailed as Lexie forced herself to say this next part. "You made your decision about _us _when you got on that plane and went to see Addison…"

"How did you…" Mark trailed hoarsely as his entire body shook from fear. The last thing he wanted or _needed_ was for Lexie to know that he was with Addison and now it was too late.

"Guess I was in the right place at the right time" Lexie answered, "when I went back to Joe's to grab my coat Derek was filling Callie and Meredith in on the situation" she explained tiredly.

Lexie felt like she was being pummelled with wave after wave of emotion, each one hitting stronger and harder.

"Did you sleep with her?" she whispered so softly in fear that it would finally be her undoing.

"Lexie…" Mark protested but stoped when Lexie began shaking her head.

"Mark I think…I've been a pretty patient girlfriend" Lexie reasoned with him as she tried to hold the tears back. "I've been willing to give you space and to help you with all your issues so I think the least you could do for me is be honest and tell me the truth".

"Why?" Mark whispered.

Closing her eyes to try and gain some control over the tears Lexie took a deep breath, "because I need a reason. I need to know that I'm not throwing all of this away nothing…I need to know that when push came to shove I didn't let my doubts control me for no good reason when I should have trusted you" Lexie argued.

Mark opened and closed his mouth a few times as he tried to get the words out. It was hard to say it out loud because he knew that there was no turning back from all the hurt he was about to cause.

"I slept with Addison" Mark declared hoarsely.

Lexie gasped as the full weight of his words hit her like a ton of bricks. She saw it coming, she knew what his answer would be yet ironically it didn't stop it from hurting any less. Lexie thought she had prepared herself for it but in that second she realised that you can never fully prepare yourself for the truth.

"But Lexie we can work this out ok" Mark pleaded with her as he slowly inched closer towards her, "we can get through this and come out stronger on the other end" he reasoned.

Shaking her head Lexie tried to find her voice, "no…no we can't Mark" she said in a tone that was so final but Mark refused to believe it.

Running his hands through his hair Mark let out a guttural groan of frustration, "I refuse to believe that this is it" he declared. "We're not seriously going to let one mistake destroy what we have are we?" Mark asked pleadingly, desperate for Lexie's answer to be anything but no.

"You made your decision the second you got on that plane instead of staying here to talk it out with me. And I guess…I guess last night I made my decision as well" Lexie mused before taking a step to leave the room.

Mark's fear was quickly ramped up by ten fold after hearing Lexie's statement. Grabbing her by the arm Mark pulled Lexie back towards him before she could leave the room, "what the hell is that supposed to mean?" he questioned her while desperately looking for the truth in her eyes.

Turning her head away from Mark Lexie bit down on her lip, "it means that…it means that last night I slept with Alex" she declared looking him straight in the eye.

Yanking her arm away from Mark's grasp Lexie laughed bitterly at him, "I guess this makes us even huh? You slept with Addison, I slept with Alex and now we can go our separate ways" she stated before making a mad dash into her room.

It took Mark a few seconds to get over the shock of hearing Lexie say that she had slept with Alex. Mark knew that he lost all rights to be pissed at her from the moment he fell into Addison's bed, but that didn't make it hurt any less.

After his brain was finally able to catch up to the rest of his body Mark followed Lexie into her room where she had just changed into a set of clean clothes and was putting her shoes back on.

"We need to talk about this" Mark spoke softly from the doorway.

Shaking her head Lexie finished tying up her shoelace and dusted herself off, "there's nothing to talk about Mark" she argued and as far as Lexie was concerned it was the truth.

Mark started to argue with that comment but Lexie didn't want to hear it because she was late for work and frankly she just didn't want to listen. Pushing her way through the door Lexie walked briskly into the hallway and picked up the keys she had thrown on to the kitchen bench and shrugged her coat back on.

"Lexie you're not walking away from this" Mark ordered her with a low growl because he refused to believe that this is how it would end between them. "You might be willing to but I'm not, I'm not walking away from this and I will do everything it takes to make this right again" Mark vowed with an air of confidence.

Lexie stoped what she was doing and looked Mark straight in the eyes, "it's over Mark…its over okay. There is nothing left to say, neither of us can undo what we did".

She slowly made her way over towards Mark and stopped only an arms length away from him. "I had 6 weeks worth of things to say but you wouldn't pick up the phone and Alex did. Alex was there for me when you weren't and I'm sorry if that hurts you but it's the truth".

"I didn't sleep with Alex to hurt you or to be vindictive or get back at you, I…I slept with Alex because I wanted to. Because for the first time in the last _6 weeks_ I felt needed and wanted, I felt alive when I was around Alex. I got tired of sitting around waiting for you to pick up the phone and call and then…then I found out that you were with Addison and all of the sudden I didn't care about the consequences or even about us. All I cared about in that exact moment was the way I felt being with Alex" she explained honestly.

"I love you" Mark called out in a last ditch attempt to make Lexie stay. But as he said those words Mark realised that he really meant them, if he was honest with himself he realised that the second he woke up with a naked Addison lying next to him.

"What does that even Mark?" Lexie questioned him in exasperation, "I mean honestly do you even know what loving another person means, because if you did then you wouldn't have done what you did…if _we _loved each other _we _wouldn't have done what _we_ did" she reasoned.

Reaching out Lexie gently stroked his cheek with a sad smile, "I don't want to hate you Mark. I don't want to turn this into some bitter break up where we can't even be in the same room together. I love you and I always will…" she trailed, "but I'm out of patience and I'm not going to play second best to Addison" Lexie explained before turning to leave.

Clutching the doorhandle Lexie paused and looked back over her shoulder. "And I'm not saying that you're completely at fault for all of this because you're not, I had my part in this to" Lexie admitted as she laughed humourlessly; "maybe if I hadn't told you how I felt things would still be good between us".

"But I have enough self-respect to know when to walk away despite how much it hurts to do it. So this is me walking away…this is me walking away with the knowledge that I can at least still love you from a distance" Lexie stated before walking out the door.

As she shut the door on Mark and left him standing alone in her apartment it took everything in Lexie not to break down and start crying right then and there. She was stronger than this and Lexie Grey was determined to prove it, to prove that she could survive this.

**************

Walking across the bridge of the hospital Lexie slowed down as Alex approached her with a cocky grin on his face. Lexie knew that she should have kept walking and pretend like last night never happened but she didn't.

"So I hear that Sloan's back from his little vacation with Addison" Alex announced with an amused grin on his face.

"You're an ass" she scowled at him, trying to act like just the thought of being in the same room as him repulsed her.

"I didn't hear you complaining about that last night" he reminded her with a cocky grin.

Rolling her eyes at him Lexie shook her head at how childish and crass he could be sometimes but Alex never made any apologises for that. He is what he is and Alex made no excuses for it, and sometimes when he wanted to be…he could be a good shoulder to cry on.

"Look last night was…well it was, it was a one time deal and it's never going to happen again" Lexie argued or more like stuttered.

"Fine with me" Alex answered casually like either way was no problem to him, "just do me a favour and give me fair warning if I need to run and duck for cover" he teased.

Trying to hide a smile Lexie walked over towards the railing and looked down at all the hustle and bustle going on inside the hospital walls. "And why would you need to hide exactly?" she questioned him while trying to pull off a serious face.

"Well I imagine Sloan won't be too thrilled when he finds out about our dirty little secret unless…" Alex trailed off suggestively.

"Unless what?" Lexie asked, pretending to be absolutely clueless about what Alex was suggesting.

"Unless you plan on keeping it between just the two of us and you have no intentions of telling Sloan what we got up to last night" Alex stated before winking his eye at Lexie to try and get a smile out of her.

"I told him ok…I told him everything. About how I knew where he was and who he was with and I even told him about last night" Lexie admitted forlornly.

Alex whistled at Lexie's declaration, "Lexipedia I'm impressed".

"You are?" she asked sceptically while trying figure out what Alex was angling for.

"It takes a lot of guts to admit that you did something wrong" Alex explained, "but you two will be back in the sack by the end of the day" he joked.

"The only bed Mark's sleeping in tonight is the one at the Archfield Hotel" Lexie informed him with a scowl.

It seemed like Alex was determined to remind Lexie that she'd be going home to an empty bed tonight and that made her even more miserable…if that was even possible.

"It's over" she declared confidently, "I ended things this morning".

"And Sloan's going down without a fight?" Alex asked sceptically because Mark didn't seem like the type to go down willingly.

"It doesn't matter what Mark wants" Lexie sighed, "it is what it is and what we had is done and buried".

"See I don't buy that" Alex argued with a cynical look on his face. "Sure you're pissed at him for taking off for 6 weeks and hooking up with Addison" he added while the sight of Lexie flinching at those words didn't go unnoticed.

"But a part of you still wants him Lexie Grey" Alex stated accusingly while pointing a finger at her with a cocky grin.

"Yeah part of me still wants him Alex" Lexie conceded, "but I can't be with him if I don't trust him" she argued while trying to think of a way to make Alex understand. "Last night you said that you broke up with Izzie because it was like being with Dr. Jekyll and Dr. Hyde…

"I got tired of trying to figure out which Izzie I was going to get" Alex interrupted her.

"Well it's the same thing with Mark. I don't want to wake up every morning wondering if he's the Mark that's in love with me or the Mark that's in love with Addison" Lexie reasoned.

Nodding his head in understanding Alex nudged Lexie with his elbow and let lout a faint smile, "he's still an ass".

"And you're still a jerk" Lexie argued back.

"A jerk who knows what you look like completely naked" Alex teased suggestively with a raised eyebrow and a huge smile.

No longer able to hide it anymore Lexie smiled at Alex and his crass comments, she sometimes wondered why Alex couldn't behave like a normal human being.

"And I win" Alex exclaimed throwing his hands up in the air in victory.

The both of them were too busy laughing at one another to notice Mark who was standing in the door way of bridge, having just come from the Chief's office.

With a glaring look he watched on as Alex said something that only seemed to make Lexie laugh even more before she walked away, leaving Alex alone.

Knowing that he couldn't avoid the inevitable any longer Mark made his way across the bridge hoping to get through to the other side without having to actually talk to Alex.

"Lexie's a good girl" Alex yelled out to Mark's retreating back, "she's smart and funny and she's not crazy like all the other chicks around here. You screwed up Sloan, so at least be man enough to admit it and walk away before you hurt her anymore".

Mark stoped in his tracks and tried to control the anger that was building up inside of him because he didn't know what pissed him off even more. Was it the fact that Lexie had been talking to Alex about him and their problems? Or was it the fact that Alex actually knew what Lexie looked like naked.

Hearing Alex talk pissed Mark off to no end because it meant that they had been talking, it meant that last night wasn't just about the sex…it was more than that, and that only made it harder for Mark to try and win her back. How the hell was he supposed to prove to her that he was the right guy if she was off talking to other guys about their problems?

But then Mark reminded himself that this wasn't Alex's fault, it was his fault that Lexie was talking to him. She'd been trying to talk to him for the past 6 weeks and he'd been avoiding her like the plague...he couldn't blame Alex; it was all his doing and that royally pissed Mark off.

Suddenly it was like Mark's body had a mind of its own and with a murderous glare he threw the hardest punch that he could muster up and hit Alex across the jaw.

With the sudden impact of Mark's fist against his face Alex stumbled backwards, he had been taken completely off guard. Sure Alex expected some sort of glaring look or even a threat, but he hadn't expected Mark to punch him.

Rubbing his sore chin Alex shook his head to try and shake it off, "you're an ass you know that" he growled with a contemptuous look. "You're the one who screwed around here not Lexie. You're the one who decided to visit Addison for a booty call and didn't think twice about her…did you really think that she was gonna be sitting around waiting for you when you got back" Alex taunted Mark with a teasing smile.

Too angry to find the right words Mark threw another punch and managed to hit Alex harder on the chin than the first time.

Fed up with being Mark's personal punching bag Alex finally threw a punch of his own. But after making contact with Mark's face Alex shook his hand to try and ease the pain because he had to put a lot more force into it in order to actually hurt Mark.

Alex was done with this little soap opera drama and turned to walk away, only he hadn't noticed Mark pick himself up off the ground and charge in Alex's direction. Tackling Alex on to the floor Mark held Alex down and repeatedly punched him in the face as he let his emotions take control. Urged on by nothing else by his complete and unadulterated anger Mark laid into Alex like there was no end in sight.

Struggling to free himself from Mark's grasp Alex finally managed to roll them over and got a few punches in before Mark held his face back and kicked Alex away. Flying backwards Alex lost his footing just as Mark tackled him again and continued to lay into him with a few more punches.

Mark and Alex were so engrossed with their fight that neither one of them had taken notice of the audience they had attracted on both ends of the bridge. As they continued to wrestle on the ground Derek pushed his way through the herd of people and jogged over to try and pull them apart.

Derek briefly managed to grab Mark by the shoulder but he was quickly pushed away just as the Chief and Owen arrived to see what all the commotion was about.

Mark managed to get one more shot in and hit Alex squarely on the nose before Derek finally got a firm grip on Mark's arm and pried him off of Alex.

Dizzy and disoriented from the fight Derek was able to pull Mark a few feet away from Alex before he stumble to the ground just as Cristina went over to Alex to check on him.

Holding on to Derek's arm Mark tried to stable his balance as his body got used to solid ground again. As all the other Attendings flocked towards Alex Mark looked over his shoulder to see that the resident really had come out in worse shape than him.

"Come one lets get you out of here" Derek suggested as he guided Mark off the bridge and over to the nearest exam room, refusing to let go of Mark until his feet were more stable.

Staggering into the nearest exam room Mark collapsed onto the bed and laid down so Derek could tend to the cut on his forehead and his hurting hand.

Derek knew that Mark was really be in a bad way since the man let Derek sootcher his _face_, Mark would never let anyone with a needle near his face yet there they were…Mark lying on the exam bed and Derek with a needle in hand.

Mark counted about three stitches before he finally let his body relax and let out a deep breath. It felt good hitting Alex, it was an outlet for the anger and guilt that had been building up inside of him.

"I wanted to kill him" Mark declared bluntly.

Derek paused with the needle on an inch away from Mark's face and studied the bruises that were already beginning to show. "You don't mean that" he tried to reason with Mark and make the man see that it was just his emotions getting the better of him.

"Yes I do" Mark countered solemnly, "I wanted to kill him".

"You're not a violent man Mark" Derek reminded him as he quickly finished up the sootchers and moved on to checking Mark's hand.

Mark sat up and swung his legs back over the bed, "were you not out there?" he asked pointing to the door.

"Why?" Derek asked.

"He slept with Lexie" Mark whispered as he closed his eyes and braced himself for the stab of hurt that hit him.

"Oh" Derek mouthed because he really didn't know what else to say.

"Oh...I tell you that Lexie and Alex slept together and all you have to say is oh" Mark exclaimed as a realisation suddenly hit him.

Jumping up off of the bed Mark paced and up and down the room, "you knew" he accused Derek, "you knew that Lexie and Alex slept together and you didn't tell me".

"Mark I didn't know for _sure _that they had slept together, all I knew for sure was that I saw Lexie sneaking out of the house at 4am" Derek argued defensively.

"And you didn't think to pick up the phone" Mark spat at him, "it didn't occur to you that I might be interested to know that Karev was trying to seduce my girlfriend".

"Geez I'm sorry Mark if the thought hadn't cross my mind, excuse me if I didn't think that you'd really care considering you dropped everything to go see Addison…including your _girlfriend_" Derek exclaimed angrily.

"What's your problem?" Mark questioned Derek with a scowl, as far as he was concerned Derek's life was perfect.

"My problem is that you don't think" Derek yelled at him like he was chastising a little kid. "You go off and do what you want without thinking about the consequences that it has for everybody else".

"You know what I really don't need your sanctimonious bullshit right now" Mark growled.

"Oh you don't need this right now" Derek repeated sarcastically. "Well guess what Mark I don't need this either yet once again I'm the one left to clean up your mess so sit down and shut up.

Taking a deep breath Mark sat back down and did as Derek ordered because the last thing he needed was to be fighting with the only person who was left in his corner.

"I'm sorry" Mark spoke softly, "If we could go back and correct our mistakes…stop ourselves from doing what we did then we would" he promised hoping Derek would believe him.

Scrubbing his face Derek let out a groan of frustration, "you know that's all you and Addison ever say…'_we're sorry, it was an accident, if we could go back we would_" Derek recited sarcastically. "But it never changes…you two never change and maybe, maybe that's saying something that you're not willing to admit" Derek reasoned with Mark.

"I love her"

"Who, Addison?" Derek asked in complete shock.

"What" Mark exclaimed in horror, "no not Addison I mean Lexie…I'm in love with _Lexie_" he corrected himself.

Falling silent Mark's eye concentrated on a tiny speck on the floor as he thought about Lexie and how badly he'd screwed things up. "It wasn't about the sex Derek. She told me that Karev made her feel _alive_" Mark repeated their conversation bitterly, "and wanted for the first time in 6 weeks".

"So yeah I wanted to kill Alex, I wanted to kill him for sleeping with Lexie…for making her laugh and for making her feel like that because that's my job" he argued with himself.

Sighing in defeat Derek jumped up on to the table next to Mark and patted him on the shoulder. Despite promising Meredith not to take sides Derek couldn't help himself as he watched a slumped Mark shedding silent tears.

"You know I finally get it now" Mark declared as he laughed humourlessly, "I mean it's probably me getting my just deserts but I get it now. I finally understand how you felt when you walked in on me and Addison because just the _thought _of Lexie and Karev makes me want to hit him again".

"No you don't" Derek argued bluntly, "you don't understand how I felt that night because trust me…the way I felt about Addison back then was _nothing_ compared to the way you feel about Lexie".

"You loved Addison" Mark argued.

Derek shook his head, "when I married her I loved Addison but by then…by the time you and Addison happened I loved her but I just wasn't _in _love with her anymore".

"Then why did you get so mad and take off to Seattle?"

"Because _you _betrayed me Mark" Derek answered emphasising the word you. "I was mad because you were my best friend but that didn't stop you from sleeping with my wife".

"But you still chose Addison…you went back to her" Mark reminded Derek with a look of sorry for drudging this all back up.

"Because I'm Derek freaking Shepherd" Derek announced bitterly, "I'm the noble guy who hates to fail at anything and my pride wouldn't let me just walk away from my marriage without trying everything I could to save it…despite how much it killed Meredith".

"So how did you fix it?" Mark asked Derek with an air of desperation; "how did you convince Meredith to give you a second chance despite picking Addison over her?"

"Mark I don't know what you want me to say" Derek answered to that truthfully because he didn't know what to say. "The me, Meredith and Addison situation was completely different to the you, Lexie and Addison situation".

"What I need is to find a way to make this right…to find a way to convince Lexie to not give up on us" Mark plotted as the wheels began to turn in his mind.

"And just exactly how do you plan on doing that when she won't even stand in the same room as you?" Derek asked rationally.

"All I need is five minutes…five minutes of her time that you're gonna get for me" Mark explained excitedly as he jumped down off of the table.

"Me" Derek repeated sceptically, "how the hell am I supposed to get Lexie to willingly stand in the same room as you?"

"By bringing her to this address" Mark answered confidently, quickly scribbling down an address on a piece of paper he handed it over to Derek.

Looking down at the piece of paper in his Derek smiled hesitantly, "and what if she doesn't come?" he asked.

"She will" Mark argued because he refused to contemplate the idea that she might not come, "I know she will because you'll find a way to get her there" he ordered before running out of the room.

Shaking his head in frustration Derek groaned, how the hell was he supposed to pull this one off without pissing everybody else off…and by everyone he meant the Grey sisters.

**************

"No, oh no" Lexie cried in disbelief as she turned around to make a run for it only to walk straight in to Derek.

She couldn't believe how stupid she had been to fall for Derek's little act, claiming that Meredith asked him to give her a ride home back to their place. But Lexie realised that something was going on when she noticed Derek driving in the opposite direction of Meredith's house.

The second they reached the baseball field and Lexie spotted Mark out in the distance the anger she'd been holding back started to boil up to the surface. Lexie didn't want to talk about it anymore and seeing Mark standing on the pitcher's mound only reminded her of everything that had happened this morning…something that felt like a distant memory.

"Talk to him Lexie please" Derek pleaded with puppy dog eyes, "just hear what he has to say before you decide to completely shut him out" he reasoned.

Brushing her hair behind her ears Lexie shook her head, "I can't believe you're doing this to me. I thought that if any one understood what this felt like it would be _you _of all people" she argued.

Lexie tried to suppress the betrayal she felt towards Derek because quite frankly she had enough emotions swimming around in her head to begin with.

"I do Lexie" Derek immediately promised her, "I know _exactly _how you feel and that's why I'm doing this. Right now you might not be able to trust Mark but you can trust _me_, so believe me when I say that listening to what he has to say isn't just for his own benefit…it's for your benefit too" Derek argued as honestly as he possibly could.

Looking over her shoulder Lexie watched Mark out from the distance kicking the sand off the pitcher's mound with his foot, looking lost and helpless. "How did you do it?" she asked Derek; "how did you find a way to forgive them for what they did?"

"Time, space" he answered, "and running away to the other side of the country also helped" Derek added hoping that a joke might help lighten the mood.

"Running away huh?" Lexie asked like she was seriously contemplating the idea.

"But I'd strongly have to advise you against that unless…not unless you don't mind having my death on your conscience" Derek mused. "Because if you run then he will kill me" he warned Lexie with a teasing smile as he pointed at Mark off in the distance.

"Well at this very second neither your demise nor Mark's seems very upsetting" Lexie teased back. Deep down she already began to love Derek like a brother and Lexie knew that despite everything if anything ever happened to Mark or Derek she'd be gutted.

"Look nobody says that you have to forgive him" Derek sighed and turned all serious on her, "just talk" he pleaded hesitantly.

Taking a deep breath Lexie closed her eyes to try and brace herself for the conversation she was about to have. Nodding her head at Derek she turned and began to make her way over towards Mark, as she got closer to him Lexie could hear off in the distance the sound of Derek's car door slamming shut but the engine never started.

With his hack turned Mark never saw her coming. The second he'd seen Derek's car pull up Mark made his way over to the field and stood up on the pitcher's mound, his heart racing at the possibility that Lexie might just walk away.

He didn't know why he'd had chosen this spot exactly. When he had been wracking his brain trying to find a place that Derek could take Lexie to without giving anything away his mind kept coming back to this place.

Mark remembered that night Lexie had made him hit a baseball as a way of channelling his feeling, he remembered the proud smile she sported when he finally did it and what a great feeling it had been to finally let his emotions go. But the one thing that Mark remembered the most about that night was the fun…how they kept laughing and teasing each other as they took turns to hit the ball.

As he waited for Lexie Mark reminded himself that that was the reason he had chosen this spot. He was desperate to prove to Lexie that they could fix this, that they could be an us again so what better place to prove that then here Mark's mind reasoned with him.

"Either you're a really stupid man or Derek really doesn't care what happens to you" Lexie called out with a serious tone.

Willing his heart to beat at a normal pace Mark turned to see Lexie standing a step away with her arms crossed defensively.

"And why's that exactly?" Mark asked casually while trying not to get excited about the fact that she instigated the conversation.

"Because there's a baseball bat in your hand, a deserted field and no witnesses" Lexie explained with an angry look on her face.

"Is that what it's going to take?" he asked, "is hitting me with a baseball bat going to make you feel better…is it going to fix this? Because if it does go right ahead, I'll even make it easy for you and give you a free shot" Mark stated seriously while offering Lexie the baseball bat.

"Don't be an idiot" Lexie snapped at him as she yanked the baseball bat out of his hand and threw it down onto the ground. "Swinging a baseball bat a few times isn't going to fix this Mark…it isn't going to make the last 6 weeks magically disappear".

"So we've moved on to being angry" Mark pointed out hesitantly. He knew that it was only a matter of time before Lexie's calm demeanour was overruled by her anger towards what he did.

"Of course I'm angry" Lexie yelled, "I missed out on a once in a life time trauma surgery because I had to spend ten minutes sootchering Alex's face" she exclaimed throwing her hands up in the air.

Taking a deep breath to calm herself down Lexie finally took notice of Mark's own bruises and she had to stop herself from physically flinching. He had a cut lip and sootchers on his forehead, not to mention a huge bruise that was beginning to turn blue on the corner of his jaw. Lexie also noticed Mark cradling his right hand gently with the other one and it took all her self-control to not run over there and check him out for herself.

"Although by the looks of things it wasn't entirely a one sided fight" Lexie commented flatly, trying to make it sound as if she really couldn't care about who came out the winner.

"How is Karev?" Mark asked not that he really cared. The only reason he asked was so that Lexie would at least think that he cared, he didn't want her to think he was some kind of monster who went around hitting people.

"You broke his nose" she informed him passively while watching for Mark's response.

"I really am sorry" Mark apologised while trying not to smile proudly at the thought of breaking a bone in Alex's body.

Rolling here eyes Lexie shook her head, "no you're not" she corrected him. Lexie could tell that Mark was lying and she decided to call him up on it.

Mark thought about what to say but decided to just go with the truth because a lie might make Lexie walk away. "No you're right, I'm not sorry I broke his nose" Mark agreed with a nod of the head.

After finally letting all the tension out of her body Lexie sighed in defeat, "well I wish I could be mad at you for acting like a schoolyard bully I can't" she admitted. "If the shoe was on the other foot and I came across Addison I'd wanna beat the crap out of her as well".

Mark knew that it would annoy Lexie but he couldn't help smiling at the thought of Addison and Lexie going at it, "you know there would be a _lot _of men working inside Seattle Grace that would pay good money to see that" he teased.

"Cute, real cute Mark" Lexie scowled at him with a glaring look that came out as more playful then serious.

"You know you're a terrible actress Lexie, I know that on the inside you're smiling" he accused her.

Lexie was starting to get fed up with men telling her that they knew her, that they knew what she was thinking and feeling because they didn't. None of them had a clue about what she was thinking and feeling and it was really starting to piss her off.

"Why" Lexie asked bluntly.

Part of her still couldn't believe that she had just come straight out and asked. It had been something she had wanted to ask form the second Mark had admitted to sleeping with Addison, but she didn't have the guts to do it.

"Excuse me?" Mark asked with a furrowed brow. While he might have been playing dumb Mark knew exactly what she was asking and he's been thinking about the answer all day.

"Why did you do it…why did you sleep with Addison? Did I really mean that little to you? Or is she the one, is she the one that you _really _love and I've just been some consolation prize?" Lexie threw a barrage of questions at him.

Taking a deep breath she didn't realise how good it felt to finally ask all the questions she wanted to ask until she finally did. Now it felt like a weight had been lifted off of her shoulders, like she could finally breathe again because the hard part was over.

Working purely on adrenaline and fear Mark rushed over to Lexie and grabbed her by the shoulders, "just stop it" he growled. "Whatever you're thinking about me and Addison you can stop right there because I meant what I said this morning…_I love you_" he swore, "I love you" Mark kept repeating over and over again in a soft whisper.

Clouded by the sound of Mark's voice telling her that he loved her Lexie couldn't think straight and before she knew it Mark had pulled her into a bear hug. Holding on to her tightly he continued to whisper into ear while stroking her hair, taking a deep breath he was hit with the smell of Lexie's hair and Mark kicked himself forever doubting how he felt about this woman.

Closing her eyes Lexie's hand wrapped themselves around Mark's waist and held on to him despite the little voice in the back of head telling her to walk away. Lexie didn't want to let him go, she wanted to stay like that forever in Mark's arms because she felt safe and protected….like they were in their own little bubble that no one, not even Addison, could get to.

But then reality came crashing down and Lexie was reminded of _why _they couldn't stay like that. Stupid reality Lexie cursed silently in her mind as she reluctantly pulled away from Mark.

"If you loved me then you never would have slept with another person" Lexie argued because as much as she wanted to believe him she couldn't. They always say that actions speak louder than words and Mark's actions…well they were screaming the complete opposite to what he was saying.

"Oh and Alex, what the hell was he last night" Mark cried out defensively. He was trying his best not to let his anger get the better of him but this whole situation was just so screwed up.

"There's a difference between you and Addison, and me and Alex" Lexie argued.

"Is there Lexie? I mean really is there a difference because from where I'm standing you're in the same boat" Mark retorted.

"Yes Mark there is a difference" Lexie exclaimed, "the difference being that when you slept with Addison in the back of _your _mind we were still an _us_…we were still a _couple_. But when I was with Alex last night I didn't cheat, I had made the conscious decision that we were over, you just wanted pick up the damn phone so I could fill you in" she yelled at him.

Mark pulled on his hair in frustration, "what are we doing here?" he asked, "I mean does it really matter who did what as long as we're willing to work past it…as long as we still love each other?"

"Maybe there is no way that we can get past this" Lexie announced mournfully, "we had our run and it was good while it lasted…"

"You don't believe that" Mark argued confidently because if there was one thing he knew for sure it was that Lexie still loved him.

"I don't know what to believe anymore Mark because you won't talk to me…you won't trust me enough to tell me the truth. And if you can't trust me then this" Lexie argued pointing between the two of them, "really is over".

Mark had spent the last 6 weeks trying to figure out why he had just taken off, why he needed to see Addison and talk to her but he couldn't find the courage to say the real answer out loud.

Shaking her head in disappointment Lexie threw her hands up in defeat because Mark was never going to open up to her. As much as she wanted for him to feel safe enough to tell her anything he never would and Lexie couldn't live with that.

"You know this, this just keeps going around in circles and I'm tired of it" Lexie declared; "you're not giving me a reason to stick around…"

"She's Addison" Mark cried out, "I know that it doesn't make much sense but I just…I don't know".

"I don't know isn't good enough Mark, I don't know doesn't reassure me that at the end of the day I'm the one you want" Lexie argued. "If it was just about talking to her, about putting an end to your past then I could understand that because all you would have to do was pick up the phone. But it's more than that Mark, the phone _wasn't _enough, you needed to _see _her...to be with her physically and that means so much more than you're willing to admit".

Looking into her glassy eyes Mark could see that he was losing Lexie; that bit by bit her reason for sticking around was being chipped away at and he needed to stop it.

"Addison knows me" Mark declared, "she knows every deep, dark secret that I have hiding in my closet…she knows me" he whispered.

"Did it ever occur to you Mark that I wanted to be that person? That I wanted to be the one that you let in and not Addison, the one who gets to see all the bad stuff and not just the good?" Lexie questioned him.

"I panicked okay" Mark screamed, "when you told me that you loved me I panicked because no body has ever actually said that to me and meant it. Addison was the first woman I had ever loved…I mean really loved but I wasn't enough for her, I couldn't replace Derek…"

"What does that have to do with us?" Lexie asked frustratingly.

"Because if Addison couldn't love me knowing everything there is to know about me then how the hell could you" Mark exclaimed in a furry. "You don't know me Lexie, you think you do but you don't and if you were ever to learn the truth…to see the real Mark Sloan, well trust me when I say that you would be out of here as fast as Addison" Mark yelled out in a promise.

"So yeah I went to L.A., I got on a plane and went to see Addison because I needed to be reminded of who I really am…"

"What does that even mean?" Lexie cried out.

"It means that I'm not a good guy Lexie, I'm not the type of guy girls are lining up to take home to meet their father. I'm the bad boy, I'm the guy that women sleep with when they wanna hurt someone's feelings or when they wanna feel good about themselves. But you…when I'm with you I forget who I really am and I believe that I can be that guy, that I can be the good guy but the truth is I'm not" Mark finally admitted.

Half of him felt pathetic for even admitting this out loud because it felt like he was begging Lexie to love him but he had no other choice. While the other half of him was flooded with relief, if felt good to finally be able to tell Lexie the truth and let her in.

"When you told me you loved me I forgot who I really was and for a second everything was great…but then reality came crashing down and I remembered that this is _me _we're talking about. So I went to L.A. to see Addison because I needed a reality cheek, I needed to be reminded of why women _don't _fall in love with me and Addison never fails to remind me of that".

Scrubbing her face Lexie nodded her head in understanding, "ok so I get why you had to go to L.A. and see Addison. But it still doesn't explain why you slept with her or why you wouldn't pick up the phone and call me for 6 weeks" she argued.

"I don't know why I did what I did" Mark answered at a loss.

Pinching the bridge of her nose to try and stop the headache Lexie shook her head, "so help me god Mark if you say the words I don't know one more time then I really will pick up that baseball bat and use it" she warned threateningly.

"Because it's what I do" Mark answered. "I self-destruct Lexie, I'm the guy who isn't happy until everything good in his life has turned into crap. So you wanna know _why_ I slept with Addison? I slept with her because I knew that it would hurt our relationship, because I won't be able to live with myself until you hate me to the point where you wish you had never met me. I slept with Addison to make you see that I'm not the guy that you think I am…you're wrong and everybody else is right".

"And did you succeed in doing what you set out to do?" Lexie asked him sarcastically. While she had a list of reason to counter argue Mark's belief in himself Lexie just didn't have the strength or the patience to keep having this argument.

"I'd say I did a pretty good job at destroying what we have" Mark evaluated his actions. "But from the moment that I woke up and saw Addison lying next to me I realised that I love you and that despite how many times I'm gonna keep telling myself that your too good for me I'm willing to try and make this right again if you can just give us a chance".

"I understand know why you did what you" Lexie began to say but her answer was swallowed up by his hungry kiss.

Holding onto her tightly Mark didn't want to hear the rest of Lexie's answer because he was pretty sure how it was going to go and right now all he wanted to do was savour this moment. As his tongue slid across hers like silk Mark kissed Lexie frantically and passionately like it was the last time he'd ever get to do it, hoping that she'd understand just how much he loved her.

For a split second Lexie let herself get caught up in the moment and enjoyed the feeling of Mark's lips pressed up against her skin but she couldn't do it. Letting this go on was only going to avoid the inevitable and it would only make the pain last longer for the both of them.

Pushing him away Lexie took a step back only to be met with a confused look on Mark's face, "Lex" he spoke softly.

Lexie shook her head to keep him quiet while trying not to cry; "understanding and forgiveness are two completely different things Mark".

"What does that mean?" he asked.

"It means that while I understand why you did what you did I still can't forgive you Mark. Understanding isn't going to erase the last 6 weeks or the fact that you slept with Addison" Lexie stated solemnly. "I can't spend the rest of my life wondering if you're going to have another episode and self-destruct, and I can't trust that you won't because I can't trust you…"

"Tell me what to do" Mark asked pleadingly as he grabbed Lexie by the shoulders, "tell me what I have to do to make you trust me again…just name it and I'll do it".

"I can't just make a list of demands and as each one is fulfilled the trust grows back…it doesn't work like that" Lexie whispered.

Looking over her shoulder she could see off in the distance that Derek was still sitting in his car, waiting to see whether or not she'd need a ride home and she was reminded of their conversation.

"I need space" she finally told him, "I need you to give me some space and some time to figure out if I can ever trust you again. So you know what you can do for me Mark" Lexie spoke "you can stay away…I'm not saying that we have to avoid each other where ever we go, I just mean that unless it's work related I can't handle seeing you or talking to you without falling apart on the inside right now".

"So you want me to take a step back" Mark repeated as he let go of Lexie and took a step back. "

"Yes" she answered softly.

"Well since we're throwing ideas around here can I ask you to do something for me?" Mark teased hoping that his joke would help lessen the pain.

Smiling faintly at Mark Lexie shook her head in disbelief, only Mark Sloan would try to bargain bon the terms of a break up. "I really don't think you're in a position to be bargaining here Mark" she argued with a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes.

"Please" Mark begged with a forlorn look on his face.

Seeing the vulnerability in his eyes and the sad, desperate look on his face Lexie found it impossible to say no, "go one" she encouraged him.

"Stay away from Karev" Mark demanded, "just promise me that you'll stay away from Alex while you're trying to figure out if you can ever trust me again".

"Mark Alex was a one time deal, it's never gonna happen again" Lexie promised with a sympathetic smile, it was endearing to her that Mark actually felt threatened by Alex.

"Never say never" Mark joked humourlessly.

"Alex Karev is one of those instances where I can definitely say that" Lexie stated confidently.

"Lexie…"

"I better get going, Derek's probably getting tired of waiting in the car" she interrupted him. Bitting her bottom lip Lexie debated with herself whether she should or shouldn't, "oh screw it" she said out loud.

Grabbing Mark by the face Lexie kissed him gently on the lips, drinking in the smell of him one last time before she quickly pulled away just as Mark began to return the kiss.

"Goodnight" she whispered before jogging back over to Derek's car ad jumping in before she changed her mind and went running back to Mark.

"Everything okay?" Derek asked with a sympathetic smile as he started the car.

As he began to drive away Lexie watched Mark swinging the baseball bat like he was warming up to take a shot, "It will be" she answered confidently.

**************

_Ok so sorry that this update is lot longer than anything I've ever done before but the juices kept flowing and I couldn't seem to stop writing. I'd really appreciate the feedback and I hope that you all enjoy this chapter._


	13. State of love and trust

**State of Love and Trust**

"Chocolate chip pancakes, twinkies, blueberry muffins, crispy bacon and a strawberry milkshake" Callie listed off as her eyes roamed the kitchen bench top that was adorned with foods all high in sugar and fat.

Waking up this morning the last thing Callie had expected to find was her roommate scoffing, all the junk food she could get her hands on, down her throat.

Callie and Arizona had both prepared themselves for the tears and the long nights camped out on the couch with a tub of ice-cream that usually came with bad breakups, but Lexie had been dealing with hers better then anybody had expected.

Thankfully Mark had stuck to his promise and gave Lexie her space; he only referred to her or addressed her when it was necessary inside the hospital walls. Outside Mark kept out of her way, but the lingering looks and the sad puppy dog eyes didn't go unnoticed by Callie and Derek.

It wasn't long before the entire hospital found out about the Mark and Addison incident, Arizona had even walked in on a few interns giggling and laughing about it. Arizona, Callie and Derek had made it their personal mission to torture any of the interns who decided to take it upon themselves to use Mark and Lexie's love life as a source of amusement.

But something had changed, over the course of last night something had caused Lexie to snap and suddenly she was behaving exactly the way they had first anticipated her to react…and that sent Callie and Arizona into a tail spin.

Lexie was about to take a bite of the chocolate chip pancake that was sitting on her fork when Callie leapt forward and grabbed ahold of her wrist.

"If you keep eating like this we won't be able to find scrubs big enough to fit you" Callie warned her, hoping that the threat of damaging her figure would snap Lexie out of it.

"I don't care" Lexie sobbed before she quickly jerked her head forward and devoured the piece of pancake while Callie was still holding on to her wrist.

Letting go of Lexie's wrist Callie threw her hands up in the air, "agh" she exclaimed helplessly. "You're supposed to be her person so you deal with it" she ordered Arizona before walking back into her bedroom in quick strides.

Callie couldn't stick around and watch Lexie turn into a blubbering mess because she knew that all of this was Mark's fault, and if she was going to stay neutral and support both of them then Callie couldn't pay too much attention to the real damage that Mark had done to her roommate.

Watching Callie walk away Arizona shook her head in disbelief. She knew exactly why her girlfriend was walking away and she still had trouble understanding how Callie could still be supporting Mark, it was a conversation that had led to several arguments.

As far as Arizona was concerned Lexie was her friend…her best friend and she refused to watch her best friend wallow in pity because of Mark Sloan. While Derek and Callie were trying their best to stay neutral and support them both Arizona really couldn't care less about Mark's wellbeing. As far as Arizona was concerned he was nothing but a slutty man whore who didn't deserve any sympathy and she had no problems making sure that Mark knew how she felt.

"Lexie what's going on, you've been handling the breakup so well for the past 5 weeks, what happened?" she asked, concerned that that this was some sort of delayed reaction.

"This morning happened" Lexie howled with a mouth full of blueberry muffin.

"Ok you know what I'm gonna take this" Arizona warned her as she quickly yanked the muffin out of Lexie's hand. "And why don't you try a grape instead" she suggested, offering Lexie a bowl of green grapes.

"They don't taste as nice as the muffin" Lexie argued like a two year old before taking a bite of crispy bacon.

"No they don't" Arizona agreed, "but they're free of any preservatives or added sugar so you're less likely to eat yourself into a diabetic comma" she commented with a perky smile.

Rolling her eyes at Arizona's perky demeanour Lexie eyed the grape that was being offered to her dubiously. Sighing in defeat she took the grape and popped it into her mouth because she knew that it was the only way Arizona would leave her alone. With a forced smile Lexie chewed on the grape until finally she opened up her mouth to show Arizona that she had in fact swallowed the piece of fruit.

"There, happy now?" Lexie asked dryly. Rising up from her seat she scanned the kitchen bench top, wondering which plate of food she wanted to take with her to the couch.

But as her eyes skimmed over the various assortments of food she snuck in a quick glance in Arizona's direction to see a questioning look, sighing in defeat Lexie settled for the bowl of grapes and made her way over to the couch.

"So are you going to explain to me what brought this all on or do I have to play twenty questions?" Arizona asked as she began to clean up the kitchen and put all the food in to the oven before Lexie changed her mind about the grapes.

"I already told you, _this morning happened_" Lexie cried through a mouth full of grapes.

"Lexie it's only…" Arizona paused to look at the stove clock; "it's 7:30am. What could possibly have happened in the last 2 hours to get you this upset?"

"It's my birthday" Lexie wailed, her eyes were beginning to sting as she tried to hold the tears back.

"Is that all?" Arizona asked dryly as she made her way over to the couch and sat down beside Lexie, stealing a grape or two.

"What do you mean _is that all_" Lexie repeated mockingly, "isn't that enough?" she questioned Arizona before taking another grape.

"Lexie it's not that bad" Arizona tried to argue but she could see that it was falling on deaf ears as Lexie adamantly shook her head.

"No it's worse" Lexie sulked, "all I have to show for another year of my life passing me by are sick patients and surgeries, I don't have anybody else. I don't have anything to come home to because Mark isn't here" she cried looking around the empty apartment.

Arizona watched on as Lexie cried into her bowl of grapes over Mark and over how miserable her birthday must seem to her, but as her friend Arizona tried to think of something to comfort Lexie.

"Personally I never understood the point of birthdays" Arizona confessed.

"You don't really believe that" Lexie argued because she found it hard to believe that the bubbly Paed's surgeon didn't like birthday's.

"Yes I do" Arizona argued assertively. "Birthday's are just days like any other day, I don't like them, I don't celebrate them, no big deal. So you need to just pretend that today is like any other day and before you know it the day will be over".

Arizona sat still beside Lexie, waiting for her new best friend to argue with her or call her up on her cynicism but Lexie didn't say a thing. Instead she was sitting on the couch with her legs curled up underneath, stairing aimlessly in front of her as she got lost in her thoughts.

With a worried look on her face Arizona followed Lexie's line of sight, hoping to find out what had made her go so quiet when finally Arizona's eyes landed on a framed photograph sitting on the wall shelving's. It was of Callie and Mark sitting in the middle of a booth at Joe's with their arms slung around each other and their respective partners, all of them sporting cheesy grins.

Despite how angry she was at Mark for what he had done to Lexie Arizona smiled fondly at the photo, a photo that had been taken on the day Callie had successfully built a man new legs out of titanium steel. The photo had been taken at Joe's by Joe at 3am and it was one of the very few photos Callie had of Arizona and Mark…it was the reason that Callie wouldn't let Arizona get rid of it after Lexie and Mark's breakup.

"Lexie…" Arizona trailed hesitantly, waving a hand in front of her face to try and snap Lexie out of it.

Sitting there in a trance Lexie was lost in her thoughts. She could feel her eyes begin to sting as she lingered on Mark's smile…she loved that smile.

Lexie felt a single tear escape from the corner of her eye and she quickly wiped it away before Arizona could see her crying over Mark. The irony of it wasn't lost on her. She was the one who had insisted on breaking up, she was the one who had insisted on needing time and yet here she was crying over the fact that she was miserable without him.

"I miss Mark" Lexie laughed bitterly. Up until this moment she had refused to admit it to anyone but now that she had it felt like she could finally breathe again…just barely.

"No you don't" Arizona corrected her; "you're in transition. You're moving from one relationship to the next and until you finally reach that next stage you're going to miss Mark…and today being your birthday doesn't help either".

Lexie shook her head in disagreement with such certainty, "I miss his smile more then I miss the sex" she confessed. "I miss seeing his bright, sexy smile…you know the kind of smile that just makes your heart melt and you completely forget about everything and everyone around you" Lexie whispered longingly.

Arizona was about to argue otherwise when she suddenly decided against it. Watching Lexie stare wistfully at the picture of the four them Arizona realised that she didn't need anyone else telling her how she felt, Lexie just needed someone to shut up and listen.

Sliding closer to Lexie Arizona wrapped an arm around her shoulders and hugged Lexie, "no you don't" she tried to reassure her. "You're just…"

"In transition" Lexie repeated Arizona's own words back to her.

Both women laughed humourlessly at Lexie's attempt at a joke, "well Mark seems to be coping pretty well" Lexie sniffed.

She wasn't going to defend Mark's actions but Arizona thought that it might comfort Lexie a bit to know that she wasn't the only one hurting…that somewhere _deep, deep _down Mark Sloan possibly had a heart.

Tightening her grip on Lexie Arizona patted her arm, "just remember that looks can be deceiving" she warned.

* * *

"Why do you look like a kid who just had his candy stolen?" Derek questioned his best friend with a playful smile on his face, hoping that it would lighten the bad mood Mark was hell bent on carrying around with him.

With a scowl on his face Mark studied the surgical board intensely, he was dead certain that less than an hour ago his name had been written up on the board but now he couldn't see his surgery anywhere.

"I've been scrubbed" Mark growled as he put all the pieces together. He was supposed to be operating in less than 20 minutes but the board stairing back him was saying other wise, the board was telling him that Dr. Hunt had stolen his O.R.

"What?" Derek asked hesitantly as he looked at the board in search of whatever Mark was looking for.

"I've been scrubbed" Mark repeated with gritted teeth as he tried to hold his temper in because he hated having to repeat himself. "I'm supposed to be operating on my Thyroplasty case in less than 20 minutes in O.R. 3 but Hunt's stolen my O.R.".

With his arms crossed and sporting a worried look Derek carefully studied Mark's demeanour, waiting to see for any signs that he was about to crack. Derek was worried about Mark, it had been five weeks since that night out on the baseball field and his best friend hadn't been the same since.

"Mark I'm sure that Hunt has a good reason for needing the O.R…"

"Derek I'm not an idiot, it's not my first time inside an O.R. so don't make me out to be an idiot" Mark warned him. "A broken ankle isn't life threatening, Hunt stole my O.R." he growled.

"Ok you're acting like a 2 year old, you get that right?" Derek questioned his best friend with a frown. Lately it seemed like the simplest things set Mark off and sent him into a yelling frenzy, and no one knew how to make it stop.

"I am not acting like a 2 year old" Mark whined, "Hunt _stole _my O.R." he exclaimed throwing his hands up in the air.

Standing off to the side Lexie watched as Mark snapped at Derek and at the surgical board, both unable to fight back an irrational Mark.

"Are we talking about Hunt or are we really talking about Karev?" Derek asked hesitantly.

Completely oblivious to her presence Lexie froze at the mention of Alex's name, she hated that people were constantly bringing up the fact that she had slept with Alex Karev…nobody seemed to be mentioning a certain neonatal surgeon.

"What?" Mark asked with a disgusted look on his face.

"You're projecting" Derek declared, "you're using Hunt and the O.R. as a metaphor for Lexie and Karev" he explained.

"Don't use that psych babble on me Derek, I get enough of it from Wyatt".

"Have you even talked to Dr. Wyatt?" Derek asked seriously, he was starting to get worried about Mark and hopefully Dr. Wyatt could knock some sense into him.

"Hunt stole my O.R. and you want to talk about feelings" Mark barked at his best friend. He knew that he was being grumpy all the time and snapping at people left, right and centre but staying away from Lexie was actually a lot harder then Mark had thought it would be.

Mark didn't like talking about his feelings or to look weak in front of people and he knew that if he admitted this out loud he'd be just that…he'd be some weak, pathetic idiot who needed a girl in order to survive. Mark had been so used to being on his own that when Lexie came long it was new and different, in a good way, but now being alone isn't as much fun.

To put it simply he couldn't breathe anymore. With Lexie out of his life Mark felt like there was something constantly pressing down on his chest, stopping him from breathing and he hated that.

Sometimes he'd wake up in the middle of the night in his cold, lonely hotel room gasping for air because he'd forgotten how to breathe. He missed Lexie, he missed the warmth of her bed, he missed feeling like he actually had a home…he missed being able to breathe.

"You need to talk to _somebody_" Derek argued.

"I don't need to talk to anybody, all I need right now is to be left alone in peace and quiet so I can actually get some work done around here" Mark growled _and figure out how to win Lexie back _he added in his head.

Listening to Mark and Derek's conversation Lexie sighed sadly; today was hard enough without knowing that Mark was struggling with this as much as she was. Lexie had been trying to fool herself into believing that Mark was fine…that he was moving on with his life, because if she could do that then it would make it easier to hate him and harder to miss him.

Derek understood exactly what Mark was going through because he'd been there before, he'd done the bad break up with Meredith…the part where it's impossible to work without her but even more impossible to be in the same room because those looks she gives you breaks your heart.

"Maybe we should have a drink tonight at Joe's tonight, after your shift ends" Derek suggested.

Deciding that she had heard enough Lexie walked away before Derek or Mark spotted her, shaking her head because heading over to Joe's and drinking herself into oblivion until morning came was now out of the question.

"Yeah, fine, whatever" Mark agreed wearily before going off in the opposite direction of Lexie.

* * *

"Hey so I was thinking about what you said earlier this morning…" Callie trailed as she followed Arizona around the nurses' station.

"About what exactly" Arizona asked vaguely while distracted with charts that needed signing.

"Lexie's birthday" Callie declared with a wide grin.

Arizona's pen began to slow down after hearing Callie's comment, she was starting to get that weird feeling in the pit of her stomach that Arizona usually got whenever something bad was about to happen.

"Calliope…"Arizona trailed warningly.

Callie held her hands up defensively, "just hear me out" she reasoned.

Dropping her pen on to the bench Arizona folded her arms across her chest with a raised eyebrow, "Calliope what have you done?"

"I haven't done anything" Callie reassured her but mumbled _"yet"_ under her breath. "Look I've spent all morning going over it and I think throwing Lexie a birthday party tonight is a…"

"Horrible idea" Arizona interjected with a mortified look on her face.

"Uh what…why, why would you say that" Callie stumbled because that was the last thing she had expected Arizona to say.

Looking up at the ceiling Arizona rolled her eyes at Callie's insane idea, "because Lexie is trying to deal with a breakup and today's making it harder Callie. And the last thing that Lexie needs is for you to throw her this huge birthday party…"

"But that's _exactly _what she needs" Callie argued as her mind went over the conversation she'd had earlier with Arizona. "Look you said that the breakup is hitting Lexie hard today because she's feeling all alone" she reminded Arizona, "but a party would prove her wrong. If we threw her a party with all her friends and family then Lexie would see that she's not alone and it would take her mind off of the breakup".

"So you think that throwing Lexie a birthday party….

"A _surprise _birthday party" Callie corrected her.

"A _surprise_ birthday party" Arizona repeated while trying not to cringe at the idea of a surprise party, "with all her Intern friends, Residents and Attendings, minus he who shall not be named, will magically make her forget everything that that egotistical jackass…" Arizona stoped that sentence as soon as Callie began glaring at her.

"Let me rephrase that" she offered. "You think that a party is going to help Lexie forget that she's alone on her birthday because Mark Sloan cheated on her?"

"Yep" Callie answered.

Shaking her head Arizona let out a sigh, "Callie this is a really, _really_ bad idea and I think it would be better for everyone, especially _Lexie_, if you just let this go and pretend that today is just like any other day".

"Ok you know what your opinion doesn't count because you're biased and birthday haters don't get a vote" Callie argued like a two year old. "Besides I've already talked to Joe about it and the whole thing will be happening at the bar" she declared resolutely.

"Callie" Arizona sighed with a warning tone, "no good can come of surprise parties".

"We'll see about that" Callie argued with a smug grin, proud with herself for coming up with the idea.

Sighing in defeat Arizona walked off in search of Lexie because she knew that as the best friend it would be her job to get Lexie to Joe's.

* * *

"Arizona I'm really not in the mood for this" Lexie whined, "I just wanna go home and crawl into a dark hole until morning comes".

"Just one drink and then you can go home" Arizona promised as she dragged Lexie into Joe's Bar.

She jumped out of her skin at as a sea of people screamed surprise at her. Lexie felt like a champagne bottle that had been shaken and shaken all day long with the pressure slowly building up until finally she couldn't take it anymore and the cork came flying off.

Lexie tried to smile back at all the smiling faces but it was just too hard, all those happy people reminded her of how miserable and alone she felt without Mark. No longer able to take it anymore Lexie shook her head as she began crying.

Standing off to the side Arizona sighed in understanding and nodded her head because this was exactly what she had expected to happen. She wished it had gone differently, for Callie's sake at least, but when you're nursing a broken heart the last thing you want is for people to be jumping out screaming surprise.

"I…" Lexie choked, crying uncontrollably her body shook as the tears came flooding out, "I a…" she tried to say but her tears were stronger than her words. "I'm sorry" Lexie sobbed before running out the door, leaving a bar full of people shocked and confused.

"Oh" Callie murmured, quickly taking off her party hat she made a beeline for the door but was stoped by Arizona.

"I'll go" Arizona offered with a sympathetic smile before following Lexie out the door.

Arizona didn't have to go far to find Lexie leaning against the wall, shaking as she cried at the way she had reacted back in there.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry about the party" Arizona apologised because she knew that she should have done more to try and stop it. "Please stop crying" she pleaded as she soothingly rubbed her shoulder in the hopes of calming Lexie down.

Shaking her head Lexie opened her mouth to speak but she couldn't, she couldn't find the words to speak because all she could do was cry.

"You still love him" Arizona noted as the severity of Mark's actions came crashing down on top of her. Her best friend was miserable…her best friend was standing on the side of the road, crying uncontrollably because the man she loves hurt her and because on her birthday the pain was made a little more real.

With her heart pounding against her chest Lexie gasped for air as she nodded her head in the affirmative. She felt like her chest was about to explode because it hurt so much and Lexie wasn't use to this feeling.

Lexie had been through her fair share of break ups but this feeling, this feeling like she couldn't breathe was a whole new experience to her. Breaking up with Mark and it's after effect was on an entirely different level, and that only helped to reaffirm what Lexie had already known…that she had never truly loved another man the way that she loved Mark.

All she could do was cry it out because there were no other options. Getting drunk wasn't something Lexie wanted to do because getting drunk meant doing something stupid and she had already done that with Alex. Lexie didn't want to get drunk or sleep with some random guy, she wanted to go back 6 months ago…to that point in time where she hadn't stupidly said I love you and Mark was still in her life.

"It's my birthday and I'm supposed to be celebrating with the people I love but I can't because Mark's not here so instead I'm standing out on the street crying because I feel like…it hurts, it really hurts" she sobbed, looking down at the ground in embarrassment.

Taking a step closer Arizona was about to say something else when Lexie shook her head, covering her face with her hands Lexie began crying even harder. It felt like the tears were never ending, like the pain was never ending and Lexie didn't know how to make it stop or how to at least numb it.

"Oh god" Arizona gasped softly as it suddenly dawned on her that Lexie was _not _okay, that Lexie _wasn't_ dealing with this like everyone thought she was and that her best friend had been one hell of an actress up until now.

"I'm sorry I um…I'm sorry I can't stay" Lexie sniffed as the tears slowly began to stop.

"No it's okay, I'll take care of it, you don't have to stay…just, I understand, everyone will understand" Arizona reassured Lexie with a soft smile.

"Okay" Lexie sniffed, wiping her eyes before she crossed the street to go off and hide in her apartment.

Once Arizona was sure that Lexie had made it across the street and into the safety of her apartment building she made her way back inside the bar to make sure that Callie was ok.

Making her way over to the bar Arizona smiled sadly at her girlfriend who was slumped over the bar with her head in her hand, surrounded by Derek, Owen, Cristina and Meredith.

"Hey" Arizona called out softly to get her attention.

Sitting up straight Callie shook her head, "okay in retrospect I realise now that surprise parties are hostile and a bad, bad idea" she agreed.

Smiling at Callie's cuteness Arizona shook her head, "it's no big deal" she tried to reassure Callie.

"How mad at me is she?" Callie asked hesitantly because she wasn't sure that she could handle another emotionally traumatised friend right now, Mark was enough work on his own.

Arizona shook her head, "she's not mad at you Callie, just a little upset…today was bad day for her" she promised.

"Guess it's a good Thing Mark bailed on us" Owen commented to Derek in what he thought was a soft murmur but the ladies had heard him clearly.

"What?" Arizona asked with a furrowed brow directed at Derek and Owen.

"Mark was supposed to meet us here for a drink after work" Derek explained, "but when Cristina mentioned the surprise party he decided stick around at the hospital and catch up on some paperwork".

Nodding her head Arizona sighed in relief, "good because the last thing Lexie needs right now is to run into to Mark Sloan" she commented thinking that her best friend had dodged a bullet.

* * *

Taking a deep breath to try and calm herself down Lexie dragged her feet towards the empty apartment; all she wanted to do was crawl into bed and forget about Mark Sloan.

Fishing through her purse in search of her keys Lexie didn't notice that said surgeon was leaning against her front door, waiting for her anxiously. After finally pulling her keys out from her purse Lexie looked up only to stop in her tracks at the sight of Mark.

Closing her eyes Lexie took another deep breath to try and keep in control, just seeing him stand there made all the tears come flooding back. "Go away Mark" she pleaded, looking down at the floor because she couldn't trust herself to face him.

"Lexie…" Mark trailed at a complete loss for words.

Shaking her head Lexie reluctantly looked up at him, seeing him stand there in his leather jacket and the stubble beard felt like someone had just plunged a knife in her heart.

"Please Mark I am begging you just go away okay I…I can't deal with this right now" Lexie sniffed as her eyes began to sting.

"Lexie I just wanted to…" Mark tried again but stoped talking as she moved to put her key in the door.

"Today is a really bad day Mark okay and I…I just can deal with you right now because I am hurting just that much and I am just that miserable that if you ask me to forgive you or to take you back I will" Lexie cried. "But I don't want to forgive you or to take you back…at least not right now and I'm pretty sure that when I forgive you you'd want it to be because it's what I want and not because you played on my vulnerability so I am begging you Mark to please go away" she sobbed with a streams of tears running down her cheeks.

Watching as she broke down in front of him Mark felt his heart break in half, he couldn't believe that this is what he had done…that he had hurt the woman he loves this much. He had to fight the urge to go over to her and wrap his arms around her protectively, Mark knew that Lexie didn't have the will or the strength to fight him if he did…but she was right. Mark didn't want to prey on Lexie's vulnerability, he wanted Lexie to forgive him because she loved him and not because she was lonely.

So he decided to make this as painless as possible for her and took a step closer, "happy birthday" he spoke softly.

Hearing Mark wish her a happy birthday momentarily stopped the tears as she looked at him in shock and surprise.

"Hey I might be the bastard who cheats on his girlfriend but he's still going to remember her birthday" Mark laughed humourlessly. "I got this for you a while back before…well before everything happened" he told her as Mark held out a wrapped gift, "you can do what you want with it. Use it, throw it away or sell it…I understand why you probably won't want it but I just wanted to give it to you".

They stood there with an awkward silence surrounding them as Mark held out his hand offering Lexie her birthday gift. When she made no move to take it Mark nodded his head in understanding, "I'll um…I'll just leave it by the door" he suggested nervously before quickly putting it down by the door.

"Happy birthday Lexie" Mark whispered a second time before turning to leave, he hated walking away from her but it was what Lexie wanted and it was the least he could do for her.

"Mark" Lexie cried out and quickly ran up to him. Without stopping to think about it Lexie grabbed Mark by the face and pulled him down towards her, claiming his mouth with a vicious kiss.

Being thrown off guard his hands began to slowly slide down her sides, coming to rest on her hips as her lips moved against his. He deepened the kiss, sweeping his tongue across her lips, seeking entry. With a small sob of hurt her mouth parted and her tongue slid across his like silk.

Mark wanted nothing more than to carry Lexie back to her apartment and lock them up in her bedroom and blow her mind away with the most incredible sex she'd ever experienced until Lexie forgave him but he couldn't. He couldn't do that because that would be taking advantage of her vulnerability, and he could feel the moistness of her cheeks as the tears slid down while she continued to kiss him.

They were both vulnerable and right now they were both miserable but Mark knew that if he had any chance of proving to Lexie that he was a good guy then he needed to stop this.

Pulling away Mark gently wiped her tears away with his thumb before his hand moved to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear. Leaning forward he slowly smelt hair before whispering I love you in to her hear, as the words came out he quickly kissed her on the cheek and walked away.

Leaving Lexie standing there in the deserted hallway was the hardest thing Mark Sloan had probably ever had to do but as he stepped onto the elevator he told himself that it was the _right _thing to do.

Stopping to pick up Mark's gift Lexie made her way into the apartment and threw her stuff on to the couch, everything except for his gift. As she looked around the room she rubbed her arms to try and warm herself up, standing in an empty apartment made her cold all of the sudden.

Taking a step Lexie backed up against the front door and slid down on to the floor, burning a whole into the gift, she fiddled with long rectangular box until finally Lexie caved and tore the wrapping away. Lexie felt her eyes sting as she opened the box to reveal an expensive ball point penlight with her name engraved on it.

She couldn't believe that Mark had remembered her ranting and raving one night about how the other interns kept stealing her penlight, he had bought her one with her name engraved on it…it was the perfect gift.

Gently hitting her head against the door Lexie clutched the pen to her chest as she shook with silent tears, she didn't want to keep crying but Mark Sloan made it impossible…just like he made it impossible to hate him.

* * *

_Sorry this took a bit to do but it's here now and I'd really appreciate reviews because I'd love to see that you all think. _


	14. Drunken Love

**Drunken Love**

**

* * *

**

"I really don't think that this is a good idea" Lexie objected as she followed Meredith through the house until reaching the kitchen.

"Well I do Ms. Sad and tragic" Meredith replied with a teasing smile. She couldn't take it any longer; Meredith decided that it was time to take action because if she had to watch Lexie mope around the hospital for one more day then she was going to scream.

"Just because I broke up with the man I love and then had a complete melt down in front of half the staff of Seattle Grace doesn't mean that I need to get hammered" Lexie argued sarcastically.

She hated the fact that she had broken down like that because now everywhere she went all the nurses would give her that sad, sympathetic look and it annoyed Lexie. Because they didn't know how this felt, as far as Mark was concerned they were all just a one night stand but Lexie…Lexie was supposed to be different, she was supposed to be more than that.

"That's what the tequila and limes are for" Meredith reminded Lexie as she pulled out a knife and chopping board.

"May I remind you that the last time I was in this house and I got drunk I ended up sleeping with Alex?" Lexie pointed out wearily.

Shaking her head Meredith concentrated on chopping the limes, "he's on call tonight so little Grey won't be going anywhere near Alex".

"Alright let's get this pity party over and done with" Cristina declared as she stormed into the kitchen and dumped her things on top of the dining table.

"Cristina" Meredith hissed with a pointed look.

"What" Cristina asked like she didn't have a clue what was wrong with what she had just said. "Just because you dragged my butt over here doesn't mean that I have to be happy about it" she argued.

"You made Cristina come here too" Lexie pointed out in disbelief. "Hey I have an idea, why don't you call Izzie…at least then that'll make things more interesting" she suggested sarcastically.

Ever since Izzie had found out about Lexie's one night stand with Alex working together had been in incredibly difficult. It wasn't until they were finally forced to work together on a case that Lexie realised she knew exactly how Izzie felt because Izzie loved Alex.

"Not a bad idea 3" Cristina applauded Lexie with an evil grin.

"Cristina" Meredith hissed for the second time in annoyance, she was trying to be the supportive sister but her person was making that impossible.

"Hey if I have to join the pity party for Meredith 2.0 over here because she was stupid enough to believe that McSteamy could be a one woman man then I may as well have something to amuse myself with…especially since I missed out on watching Sloan kick evil spawn's ass" Cristina commented defensively.

"Bitch" Lexie spat out with a look of disdain.

"I like you bitter and pissed off. You're almost like a normal person now" Cristina appraised impressively.

Sighing in defeat Lexie dropped her head in her hand and stared aimlessly into thin air, wondering how she got to the point where impressing Cristina Yang with her bitterness was the highlight of her day.

"Talk to her" Meredith mouthed.

"No" Cristina mouthed in protest.

"Go" Meredith ordered, pointing in Lexie's direction with the knife still in her hand.

Rolling her eyes Cristina dragged her feet over to the table and sat across from Lexie. Catching her attention Cristina mumbled about how Meredith owed her one, "I would like us to talk because I care and I uh, want to know things…I'm very interested to hear, I mean, uh, what are your thoughts, feelings?"

"Honestly?" Lexie asked cynically because Cristina Yang was the last person who would want to have an actual human conversation about feelings.

"Uh huh" Cristina mumbled grudgingly.

"I'm pissed off at Mark because even though he slept with Addison I wanna forgive him and I'm pissed off at myself for wanting to want to forgive him" Lexie answered bitterly. "And it might also have something to do with the fact that whenever I'm around him I just wanna rip his clothes off" she mumbled loud enough for Cristina and Meredith to hear her.

"Well, does it hurt that he cheated? I mean, does it hurt your heart?" Cristina asked with a forced smile that was borderline creepy.

With the knife half way through a slice of lime Meredith stopped what she was doing and looked up at Cristina with a disturbed look on her face, "what is the matter with you?"

Looking over her shoulder at Meredith Cristina glared at her, "I'm trying to talk girl".

"Please stop" Lexie begged with a scared look on her face.

Throwing her hands up in the air Cristina shook her head as she stood up, "well you know what, I can't talk girl, and I shouldn't have to talk girl because I'm a kick ass surgeon".

Shrugging her shoulders Meredith went back to chopping up the limes and decided to ignore Cristina's outburst.

"She's as bad as you, you get that right?" Cristina questioned Meredith as she made her way over to the kitchen bench, grabbing the bottle of tequila Cristina cracked the top off and took a long swig of it.

Meredith looked up at Cristina with a furrowed brow, "what's that supposed to mean?"

"It means that she's turned into you…all sad and pathetic just because you let some guy into your pants. Men with McNames should _not _be allowed anywhere near a Grey's pants, if you had kept McDreamy out of your pants I wouldn't of had to put up with the Meredith and Derek saga for the last 3 years" Cristina grumbled resentfully.

"Just because I became a human traffic accident after Derek chose Addison over me does not mean Lexie's going to do the same thing" Meredith argued defensively as she carelessly waved the knife around.

"She already is one" Cristina exclaimed; "she had a breakdown in the middle of Joe's bar in front of _everyone _she works with" she reminded Meredith. "How long do you think it took before Sloan heard about it from one of the scrub nurses?"

"Cristina Lexie's not like me okay, she's not all dark and twisty…she came from a good home, she has parents who love her…"

"She's more like you then either of you want to admit" Cristina cut in. "She slept with her _boss_ and when it didn't turn out to be the fairytale ending that she wanted she screwed the first guy she laid eyes on".

"Uh hello I'm sitting right here" Lexie exclaimed in disbelief but Meredith and Cristina ignored her.

"Hey may I remind you that I was determined to forget about my one night stand with Derek, I didn't wake up the next morning expecting it to be some kind of fairytale…he wasn't supposed to become the love of my life" Meredith argued defensively.

"But he did" Cristina threw back at her, "McDreamy got into your pants and he became the fairytale just like three and Sloan…and do you know what the really funny part about this is, it's that once again _Addison Montgomery _is the reason that a Grey girl is stairing down the bottom of a bottle of tequila, trying to drink and sleep her way back to some sort of semblance of normalcy".

"Not yet anyway" Lexie cried out as she stood up from the dining table. Making her way over to the kitchen Lexie grabbed the bar of chocolate that was sitting on the bench before snatching the bottle of tequila off of Cristina.

"Oh and for the record you two _suck _at pity parties" Lexie noted with a glaring look before she headed towards the living room.

"What's her problem?" Cristina mumbled casually like she hadn't just said all those things to Meredith.

Grabbing three shot glasses and the bowl of limes Meredith shrugged her shoulders. "Who knows, I'm still trying to learn how to talk girl" she noted while nudging Cristina in the arm to follow.

* * *

After three bottles of tequila, two bars of chocolate and fours later Meredith, Cristina and Lexie were well and truly drunk. None of them could even walk a straight line long enough to grab another bottle of tequila from the kitchen or put a whole sentence together without having to stop and think first.

But somehow, and Cristina wasn't sure exactly how, she had ended up lying on the floor while Meredith and Lexie were sprawled out on either sides of the couch.

"Do you know what your problem is?" Cristina slurred while stairing up at the ceiling like it was a screen projecting the most fascinating cardio surgery that she had even seen.

"I fell in love with a McBastard" Lexie laughed in her drunken state.

"Your heart lives in your vagina, you…you can't _just _have sex" Cristina stuttered; "you need to put all these stupid feelings and crap into it. If you had just screwed, if you had just gone and screwed Sloan like every other nurse had and then walked away none of this would have happened".

"My heart does _not _live in my vagina" Lexie pouted for roughly five seconds before all three of them started laughing uncontrollably.

"I'm sorry" Meredith cackled, "I'm sorry Lexie but yes it does. Your heart…your heart lives in your vagina, you couldn't…you don't even know what…what casual sex means" she stuttered.

While listening to Meredith and Cristina giggle uncontrollably at their own joke Lexie's brain managed to clear the alcohol induced fog for more than a second to think about that one. As much as she wanted to argue against their statement she couldn't because somewhere deep down she knew they were right, that if she could have just had a casual one night stand with Mark Sloan then none of this would have happened. But even with all the alcohol coursing through her brain Lexie knew that she was lying to herself because the second she had a taste of Mark Sloan she would have wanted more.

"I slept with Alex" Lexie argued defensively, or as much as the alcohol would allow her to.

"Nope that doesn't count" Cristina answered with a screwed up face as she tried to stifle a giggle.

"Why not?" Lexie asked with a scowl, as much as she could remember of her one night stand with Alex Lexie was certain that Alex Karev was the last man that she would ever fall in love with.

"Because Alex is me 3 years ago" Meredith pipped in before she let out a loud cackle at her own comment. Sometimes Meredith still couldn't believe that Derek had asked her to marry him less than a month ago or that she had said yes.

"Evil spawn is dead inside" Cristina added dryly like it was common knowledge to everyone.

With a frown on her face Lexie tried to think their comments over but it was hard with the alcohol getting in the way, "but I thought…I thought you said that _I_…that _I _can't do casual sex, wasn't this convolution…I uh, I mean c-o-n-v-e-r-s-a-t-i-o-n about _me_" Lexie slurred.

"Oh great now she's in love with Evil spawn" Cristina snorted, "McSteamy's off the hook".

"_No_" Lexie exclaimed but she had to stop and think about what she was saying no to, "No I um…what was I saying" Lexie laughed as she looked towards Meredith for help.

"Alex Karev" Meredith managed to slur so perfectly that no one would have thought that she was drunk.

"Right" Lexie agreed pointing her finger up in the air in triumph for remembering, "I'm not…I'm not in love with Alex, Alex is…he's funny in bed".

Meredith guffawed at her little sister's declaration, "Alex is funny in bed" she repeated.

"So evil…evil spawn's into the kinky stuff huh" Cristina snorted with a faint smile.

"He isn't kin...kinky" Lexie argued, "I just meant that he's fun…Alex Karev is the good, good time man".

Too occupied with laughing hysterically in their drunken stupor none of them heard the front door open or the sound of Derek's voice.

"The game should start in the next…" Derek trailed; he quickly lost his train of thought at the sight in front of him.

Stopping in the doorway Derek and Mark watched on in confusion at the sight of Cristina Yang rolling around on the floor, laughing hysterically.

"Hey it's McCheating Bastard and McLying Ass" Cristina announced in a slur as she pointed at Mark and Derek.

"Yang what is the matter with you?" Derek asked with a scowl.

Looking around the room Mark's eyes were immediately drawn to Lexie who was sprawled out on the couch with her legs propped up on the coffee table, lightly knocking the empty bottle of tequila.

"I'd say 3 bottles of tequila is what's gotten into her" Mark grumbled as he walked over to the coffee table and picked up the three empty bottles.

Shaking his head Derek sighed; "of course".

"Because you're a McLying ass and he's a McCheating Bastard" Cristina slurred again, crossing her arms so she could point at the men with the opposite finger.

"Yang you're drunk" Mark barked at the resident with a look of disdain, he didn't appreciate the fact that Lexie and Meredith both roared with laughter at Cristina's new nicknames for them.

"Sshh don't tell Owen" she whispered with her finger pressed against her lips.

Making his way over to Cristina Derek tried to appraise just how drunk she was before offering her a hand up. "Yang I think it's time to get you home" he suggested with an annoyed tone.

"No, no Cwist…C-r-i-s-t-i-n-a is staying here tonight" Meredith slurred.

"And where exactly is Cristina going to sleep?" Derek asked, pretending to play dumb.

"Why do you even bother asking stupid questions?" Mark asked him with a blunt look.

"Because I'm an idiot" Derek answered Mark as he hauled Cristina up on to her feet, but too busy looking at Mark he didn't see her quickly fall back down.

"Hey you dropped me" Cristina pouted.

Closing his eyes Derek took a deep breath, "I didn't drop you Yang, you sat back down" he argued.

Lexie knew without a doubt that she was drunk but despite however intoxicated she was Lexie would always be able to sense Mark a mile away. And right now having Mark Sloan stand only a foot away from her was sending her entire body into over drive…she was now painfully aware of just how long it had been since the last time she'd had sex.

"I tink that…that I need to go home" Lexie slurred as she tried to stand with her left foot still propped up on the coffee table. Completely thrown off balance Lexie began to fall towards the ground but Mark quickly caught her before she did.

Slowly bringing Lexie back up Mark held on to her tightly until she was at least steady on her feet. He had never seen Lexie this drunk before and now that he had he couldn't help but smile sadly at her. Mark knew that if they were still together that he would have made some snide remark by now, and that Lexie would be threatening to withhold sex as punishment.

But they weren't together, they were two separate people sleeping in two separate beds and he needed to let go of her arms because simply touching her soft skin was burning Mark's hands.

Looking over at Derek Mark silently pleaded with him to help him out here because he didn't know how much longer he could hold on to her and keep his emotions out of it.

"Lexie why don't you stay here tonight" Derek suggested as he quickly made his way over to them and pulled Lexie into his own arms.

"McDreamy" Lexie declared like she had just realised that Derek was in the room, "look McDreamy's here" she told Meredith and Cristina. "You're really, really sexy and dreamy McDreamy…that's why we call you…why we call you _McDreamy_" Lexie slurred as she playfully slapped him on the cheek as she sounded out the word McDreamy.

Clapping her hands excitedly Meredith squealed "yeah" excitedly, "we can have a sleep over party".

"I think you're all partied out big Grey" Mark argued, offering Meredith a hand up but she quickly slapped it away.

"I have to get ho…home" Lexie slurred, "Cal doesn't like it if I come home drunk…I'll disturb…I'll be interrupting…"

"The sex" Meredith exclaimed, "Torres doesn't like it when the sex is interrupted" she noted with sleepy eyes.

"Well at least someone's hav…havin' sex in our apartment" Lexie stuttered.

Mark froze. Listening to Lexie talk about the lack of sex in her life was _not _something that he wanted to be doing.

It was bad enough that he couldn't stop thinking about that kiss, the way Lexie had taken charge and went after what she wanted…_or maybe not_ his mind kept torturing him. It was a bittersweet kiss that was destined to plague Mark until the end of time. The irrational part of his mind kept telling him that the only reason she'd done it, the only reason she kissed him was because Lexie had felt lonely…she was lonely and upset because it was birthday. But the rational part of his mind kept saying no.

The rational part of his mind was certain that Lexie Grey had kissed him because she _missed _him…because she still _loved _him. Mark could still taste the hunger and desperation of her kiss; he could still sense how much she needed him through that one kiss.

"Ooh I know, I know" Cristina exclaimed waving her arm around in the air like an excited little kid who had the answer to a question. "Evil spawn" she declared before lying back down on the floor.

"Evil spawn" Meredith repeated with a groggy frown.

"Yep" Cristina answered with a big fat smile, "evil spawn can give her sex..."

"He can give her good kinky sex" Meredith agreed with a drunken serious face, "because Alex is the good time guy".

"Derek" Mark growled in a warning tone through gritted teeth, if he had to listen to Meredith and Cristina try to get Lexie laid tonight by Alex then somebody was going to pay…and so far it was narrowed down to Meredith or Cristina.

Nodding his head in understanding Derek tugged on Lexie's arms, "okay Lexie why don't we get you home to bed" he suggested because Lexie staying the night was no longer an option…not if he wanted Mark to actually go home.

"No" Cristina and Meredith both proclaimed in protest. "Hey three why don't you sleep in Alex's room, you know your way around it" Cristina added in between fits of giggle.

"Yang just shut the hell up" Mark growled at her with a glaring look.

"Opsy McSteamy is steaming" Meredith chanted drunkenly as she laughed at the glaring look on Mark's face.

Derek knew that Mark understood that the women were drunk but right now his emotions were getting the better of him lately and Derek knew that if he didn't end this soon there were going to be tears.

"Hey McDreamy I have a secret" Lexie declared, pulling his head forward. "But you can't tell McSteamy because it's…it's a secwet so sshh" she hushed Derek with a finger pressed against his lips.

Lexie thought that she was whispering but her drunken state stopped her from realising that Mark could actually hear her from the other side of the room, with a raised eyebrow he waited to hear what she didn't want him knowing.

"And what's that Lexie?" Derek asked playing along because he knew that if he didn't humour her then they'd be there all night.

"My heart lives in my va-jay-jay" Lexie declared resolutely with a drunken look that actually looked like a pout.

With a furrowed brow Derek looked back and forth between Lexie and Mark, he didn't know whether or not to let Mark jump in and handle this or to pretend like he hadn't heard a thing.

Meredith broke out in an uncontrollable laughter, rolling around on the couch in stitches.

"I'm sorry what?" Derek asked hesitantly because if his soon-to-be-sister was talking about what he thought she was talking about then he _really _didn't want to know.

"She means her heart lives in her vagina" Cristina exclaimed clapping her hands together and wohooing, "good for you three…there's, there's nothing wrong with admitting it. Shout it out…shout it out loud and be proud".

"Yang I'm serious, put a pie in it" Mark barked, he was tempted to stuff a sock down her mouth it meant that the woman would stop encouraging Lexie's sudden need to openly discuss her sex life.

Mark understood that she was completely drunk and that Lexie had no idea what she was saying because if she did then she'd be mortified. But there was a part of him that couldn't help wonder that if what Lexie was saying was true then where did that leave her and Alex?

Wapping her arm around Derek's shoulders Lexie pulled him in closer, "apparent…apparently I don't know how to have cas…casual sex. I _always _fall for a guy after…after we do the nasty so that's why _you _have to keep little Sloan away from little Grey" Lexie declared in a slur pressing down on Derek's right cheek with her fingertip.

With a furrowed brow and pursed lips Mark watched Lexie sway back and forth as she held onto Derek. He didn't know what bothered him more, the fact that the idea of having sex with Alex was more appealing to her then with him or the fact that she just told Derek that he was in charge of keeping Mark away from her.

"Keep little Sloan out of little Grey" Derek repeated, the disturbed look on his face was quickly turning into a faint smirk. He knew that Lexie would have no memory of this in the morning but that didn't mean he couldn't tease Mark about it.

Taking a deep breath so that his emotions wouldn't get the better of him Mark walked over to Lexie slowly so that he wouldn't scare her off. "Lexie I really think that you need to let me take you home now okay" he offered, tugging on her elbow to pull her away from Derek.

Lexie quickly yanked her arm away, "no" she exclaimed with a scowl on her face.

"Lexie…" Mark trailed hopelessly.

"I'll take her home" Derek offered.

"Look clearly we're not going to be watching any game tonight which means I'm out of here, so why should you have to take Lexie home when you're already home…besides I have to go past the hospital to check on my burn patient before heading back to the hotel…it's more practical if I take her" Mark argued.

Derek shook his head, "she's a Grey…"

"And what does being a Grey have to do with anything?" Mark asked with a furrowed brow.

"Grey's get horny when their drunk…"

"Der I want sex" Meredith declared as if on cue.

Rolling his eyes at Meredith's perfect timing he gave Mark a pointed look, "see what I mean" he joked but Mark wasn't laughing.

Instead Mark stood across from Derek, while Lexie was standing in the middle, with his arms crossed. "She's drunk Derek; little Grey can't tell the difference between her ass and her elbow...do you really think that little of me that I'd take advantage of Lexie in her condition?"

Derek shook his head and tried to back track, "Mark that's not what I meant" he tried to reassure his best friend. "All I meant was that a horny, drunk Grey is pretty hard to resist at the best of times. And right now with the way things are between you two I'm not sure either of you would have the willpower to say no…between here and Lexie's apartment there's _more _than enough time to talk yourselves into doing something that you'll both regret in the morning".

"Derek it's not like I'm dying to have sex" Mark argued defensively. He understood where Derek was coming from but it still hurt a bit to know that his past actions dictated the way people looked at him.

"Yes you do" Cristina chimed in with her drunken laughter, "you're McSteamy…you're the happy love stick who's always in the mood for sex".

"Well No sex for Mark Sloan" Lexie declared with a sleepy look on her face, "If McSteamy wants sex then he can call _Dr. Red_" she suggested mockingly, using Mark's nick name for Addison.

"She's drunk Mark, she doesn't know what she's saying" Derek tried to comfort his best friend because he could see the hurt look in his eyes.

Swallowing the knot in his throat Mark shook his head, he knew that he deserved that and he also knew that he had no right to be mad at Lexie. After what he did to her she was the one who had the right to get drunk and to say mean things…as long little Grey stayed away from Karev Mark told himself.

"I'll take Lexie home, can you call Hunt and tell him to come and pick up his toy and then get Meredith up to bed" Derek asked.

Sighing in defeat Mark nodded his head in agreement, if he fought Derek on this one he knew that the ride home with a drunken Lexie would only end up in fight between the two of them…or sex that they'd both end up regretting.

"Sure whatever" Mark stated casually as he waved Derek off who was slowly guiding Lexie out the front door.

After watching from the window to make sure that Derek had safely gotten Lexie into the car and left Mark turned around to see Meredith stumbling to the floor as she tried to stand up while Cristina was still on the floor, laughing like a hyena.

In a few quick strides Mark made his way over to Meredith and warped an arm around her waist. Steadying Meredith in her place he reached into his pocket to pull out his phone and pressed his speed dial 4.

"Hunt" Mark barked the second Owen picked up on the other end, "where the hell are you?"

"I _was _sleeping until you called" Owen yawned.

"Well get your butt over to Derek and Meredith's and come get your girlfriend, the laughing hyena" Mark ordered.

"That isn't Cristina" Owen objected because he found it hard to believe that it was Cristina in the background he could hear laughing.

Mark held the phone out in the direction of Cristina's cackling for a second or two, "get here _now_. Derek wants the drunken bird out of here before he gets back".

"I'm on my way" Owen sighed.

"Good" Mark replied before hanging up on Owen without even a goodbye.

"Come on big Grey I'm getting you into bed" Mark declared but paused, "I never thought I'd say those words to Derek's wife again" he commented to himself.

Leaving Cristina lying on the ground Mark helped Meredith over to the stairs but it was taking too long for Mark's liking, It was one step forward and three steps stumbling back and it didn't help that Meredith wouldn't stop talking.

"McSteamy's a McCheating Bastard you know that right" she slurred, waving her hands around animatedly.

"Yes I know that Meredith" he grumbled in agreement.

"And you…you don't deserve Lexipedia" she added as Meredith tripped on the first stair and feel forward.

Grabbing her by the arms Mark caught Meredith before she hit her head on the stairs. Knowing that this would take too long Mark quickly swept Meredith up into his arms and carried her up the stairs.

"I'm not sleeping with you McSteamy…I'm, I'm…immune to the McSteamy smile" she stuttered sleepily.

Mark scoffed, "trust me big Grey you're the last person I'd want to sleep with" he reassured Meredith as he kicked her bedroom door open.

"That's because Dr. Evilis the _first _person you want to see naked" Meredith corrected him.

"Dr. Evil?" Mark questioned the drunken woman sceptically as he managed to steady Meredith on her feet long enough to pull back the covers.

"Addison Montgomery" Meredith clarified wearily.

"Addison is _not _the first person that I want to see naked" Mark answered quickly, reminding himself that she was drunk in the hopes of keeping his voice calm.

"That's nice" Meredith answered vaguely, she was too distracted by the fact that her blurred vision was making it difficult to judge where the mattress was exactly but she missed it.

With his reflexes kicking in once again Mark caught Meredith before she hit the floor and guided her into bed. Pulling the covers over her Mark turned to walk away when Meredith sprang up and grabbed his hand, "then who is?" she questioned him.

Mark sighed in frustration because he really didn't want to have the sex talk with a drunken Meredith; it was bad enough having to listen to the woman he loved talking about Alex.

Pulling his hand out of Meredith's grasp Mark gently grabbed her by the shoulders and pushed her back down on to the mattress, "go to bed Meredith" he ordered.

"Okay", agreeing willingly like a happy little child Meredith snuggled up underneath the covers before closing her eyes.

Certain that this conversation was definitely over and that Meredith was out like a light Mark made his way over to the door so he could wait downstairs for Owen. But just as he began to close the door to Meredith and Derek's bedroom he could hear his name being called out.

Sighing in disbelief Mark stuck his head back into the room, "go to sleep Meredith" he ordered with that tone of voice he used whenever he wanted to scare the interns in to doing what he told them to do.

Lying curled up in a ball Meredith looked over at Mark's silhouette that she could just make out thanks to the light on in the hallway. "Mark can I ask you something" she asked groggily from a combination of the alcohol and sleep.

"Do you promise to go to sleep if I answer your question" Mark tried to reason with her though why he was trying to reason with a drunken Meredith was beyond his comprehension.

Nodding her head in agreement Meredith squinted her eyes in the hopes of morphing the two Mark Sloan's into one.

"Okay what is it?" he sighed.

"Are we really that forgettable?" Meredith asked; "why do the Grey girls always get left behind for Addison, I mean what does she have that we don't…what makes _her _so unforgettable" she murmured despite the fact that she was already half asleep.

In that instant Mark felt his heart break for the Grey girls, wondering if Lexie thought the same thing…did they both really think that they were so forgettable compared to Addison.

"The Grey girls are not forgettable people" Mark answered with a genuine smile just as the door bell rang.

"Yes we are" Meredith mumbled before finally allowing sleep to take over.

Closing the door he sighed sadly as he made his way downstairs to open up for Owen, Mark knew that he and Derek only had themselves to blame when it came to Meredith and Lexie's feelings of inadequacy when it came to Addison Montgomery.

* * *

"Lexie where are your keys" Derek asked, standing at the front door with her in his arms but there was no answer from the sleeping intern.

Sighing in frustration Derek kicked on the front door loudly hoping that Callie would hear him, it took three kicks before the door was finally opened.

"What" Callie growled but quietened down the second she saw a sleeping Lexie in Derek's arms, "what happened?"

"She's passed out" he answered as Derek made his way through the tiny apartment until he reached Lexie's bedroom.

"How come?" Callie asked worriedly while holding the bedroom door open.

"That's what _3 _bottles of tequila will do to you" he answered as Derek waited for Callie to pull back the bed covers.

"She's drunk?"

"As a skunk, I had to get her out of there before Mark killed someone" Derek commented.

Not sure how to respond to that Callie gave Derek a questioning look as she pulled off Lexie's shoes and covered her up.

"There was a lengthy discussion of Lexie's…" Derek trailed embarrassingly.

"Of Lexie's…" Callie repeated with a _spit it out already _look.

"There may have been comments made about Lexie's vagina and Alex Karev mixed into the same sentence" Derek answered vaguely.

"Ah now I gotch ya" Callie answered understandingly just s Derek made his way back towards the front door.

As he reached the front door Derek stopped to turn and look at Callie, "why is it with you women that if the problem can't be fixed surgically then the only other solution is tequila?"

Shaking her head Callie smirked as she held the front door open, "there isn't enough time to answer that question and besides you don't really want to know the answer to that" she told him.

"I don't?" Derek asked sceptically.

"No you don't" Callie reassured him, "if I told you the real reason then it would take all the mystery out of it and we need to keep you men guessing somehow" she teased before closing the front door on Derek's face.

* * *

_Sorry if this seems a bit out of tune from the last two or three chapters but I thought that they've been a little bit heavy and full of angst. So I'm hoping this chapter will help break it up a bit and bring a bit more light and fun into it. So please review and let me know what you all think, I'd really appreciate it. _


	15. The Road Ahead

**The Road Ahead **

"So how long has it been since you and Mark broke up?" Thatcher asked her bluntly.

"Wha…what" Lexie stuttered, caught off guard.

Despite it having been over seven months and despite all the drama and embarrassing moments, such as her drunken stupor at Meredith's which Lexie was still mortified about, she still hadn't said a word Susan or Thatcher.

Part of her wanted to believe that it was just because she didn't have time for that long conversation, but she knew better then that…Lexie knew that the reason she hadn't said anything was because deep down she was hoping she wouldn't have to.

"Dad…"

"Sweetheart I might be a man but that doesn't mean I'm oblivious, it's been months since you've come by the house and everytime your mom mentions Mark's name you end the phone call" Thatcher noted.

"Does mom know?" Lexie asked sheepishly as she sat down beside Thatcher and offered him his cup of coffee.

"I don't think your mother's caught on yet, I think she just wants to believe that the two of you have been insanely busy" he reassured her.

Nodding her head Lexie sighed in relief, "well that's good".

"Sweetheart she just wants to see you happy and settled; we both do" Thatcher stated with a worrying look in his eye.

"I am happy, I am settled" Lexie argued defensively but even she didn't believe that and she knew that he didn't either.

"Do you know why I was so against you becoming a surgeon?" Thatcher asked her hesitantly. It hadn't been something they really talked about over the last few years but he was ready to talk, or at least make Lexie understand.

"I don't know, because of Meredith's mom" Lexie answered with a raised eyebrow, wondering what any of this had to do with Mark.

Nodding his head Thatcher looked away in shame, "I was worried that you'd become like Ellis. I was worried that surgery would become your whole life and that…that you'd forget that there's a great big world outside of the O.R." he confessed.

Looking back at Lexie he smiled lovingly at her, "but then one day you brought Mark home and suddenly all those fears went away. I didn't have to worry about you ending up alone because you had Mark, and I mean who better to have by your side then another surgeon right" he teased.

Lexie giggled fondly at her father, she understood what he was trying to do and she loved him all the more for it.

"But now I'm starting to worry again and I don't won't have to worry about you Lexie" he declared with a sad smile.

"I haven't become some happy scalpel recluse if that's what you're worried about" Lexie laughed humourlessly.

"Then what happened?" he asked bluntly.

Sighing in defeat Lexie got up from her chair so she could refill her coffee cup, "he cheated…he slept with another woman" she declared.

There was a silent pause in the room as Lexie gave her dad a second to mull that over, but she kept one eye on the door in case he got any ideas about going across the street to take a swing at Mark.

Nodding his head in understanding Thatcher thought about that for a second. The father inside of him wanted to kill Mark for hurting his little girl like that, but when he stopped to think about…_really _think about it, he kept coming to the same conclusion.

Mark Sloan was _not _Ellis Grey, this wasn't history repeating itself. It was one stupid mistake that he had made and Thatcher was certain that if Mark could take it back he would, Thatcher would even bet his life on it.

"Did he say sorry?" he asked.

"Repeatedly" Lexie answered as she carefully made her way back over to her father.

"Do you love him?" Thatcher questioned.

He knew that the next question should have been does _he _love you but Thatcher didn't need to ask that because he already had his answer. He knew from the second that he had met the man that Mark loved his daughter, and he could also tell that being in love was an entirely new experience for Mark Sloan. So when he hears that Mark cheated on his daughter Thatcher knows instantly it's not because of Lexie but because his scared.

Lexie tried to look away but her father wouldn't let her. "Lexie" he called out gently grabbing her hand, "do you love him?" he asked again.

She had been trying to deny it, trying to tell herself that she was over Mark but it was getting harder and harder to do that.

Over the last month she had felt her resolve to stay mad at Mark slipping away. He had done what she had asked and stayed away from her, he gave her some distance while still being as professional as possible when working together.

Lexie smiled fondly at the thought of working together. She had been so busy the last seven months trying to avoid working with him that she had forgotten how much she loved to work with Mark. Lexie had forgotten how much he had to teach and how brilliant he was with his patients.

She had been wondering around her apartment all morning feeling hypercritical and guilty after treating their patient last night. It had come out that their patient, Michael Breyers, was having an affair with his wife's best friend. And Lexie had told him that people make mistakes, that they sleep with the wrong people but it's the part that comes after…it's the part where you try to make it right.

From the second those words had come out of her mouth they had been haunting her, asking her why that applied to Michael Breyers but not Mark...why can't he have a second chance to make it right?

"Yes" she answered softly.

"Good then that should be enough" Thatcher announced confidently.

"Excuse me?" Lexie asked with a furrowed brow directed at her father.

"Lexie if he's sorry for what he has done and you really love him then you should be able to work past this" he tried to reason with his daughter.

"What that's it?" she exclaimed disbelievingly. "You're….you're not gonna go across the street and threaten to break his legs or, or tell me to stay away from him because he's nothing but a cheating scumbag?" Lexie asked, working herself up.

She didn't know why she was getting so upset at her father's calm demeanour but Lexie did know that it was bugging her.

"No I'm not gonna do that" Thatcher answered calmly.

"Why the hell not" she questioned him with a raised voice. "Why aren't you gonna do that because if you were a good father then you would" she argued.

Lexie was beginning to understand that her reaction was more to do with the fact that she _needed_ Thatcher to be upset by this so then she knew that she hadn't been overreacting. When her father remained clam and didn't utter a single threat to Mark it made her wonder if maybe she'd been holding on to the betrayal for too long rather then trying to forgive.

"No an irrational father would go across the street and threaten Mark, but a good father would do this…a good father would stay calm and do exactly what I'm doing right now?" Thatcher disagreed with her.

"And what are you doing right now?" she asked questioningly.

"I'm trying to make you see sense so sit down" Thatcher ordered, patting the empty kitchen stool beside him.

"Sometimes people make mistakes, they make bad choices but it doesn't mean that they're a bad person…" Thatcher trailed, he wanted to give Lexie a chance to absorb that piece of information.

"I know that dad" Lexie sighed hugging her warm cup of coffee in her hands for some sort of comfort.

"Then you also know that Mark's not a bad person, he just made a bad choice and if you still love him…if you still want a future with him then you need to figure out a way to let go of what he's done and forgive him" he urged Lexie because Thatcher hated the idea of seeing his daughter miserable.

"You don't think I want to forgive him because I do, everytime he asks for forgiveness the words are on the tip of my tongue but there's something holding me back" she declared in frustration. She was tired of hearing people say that she purposefully refused to move past this. "And I don't know if I can trust him again and if I can't trust him then what kind of future do we really have?" she admitted reluctantly.

"Have there been other women?" he asked bluntly because if he's daughter was determined to hold onto Mark's mistake then he'd have to fight with logic.

"_What?"_ Lexie screeched in disbelief, she couldn't believe that her own father was actually asking her that.

"Have there been other women?" Thatcher repeated the question calmly like it was the most natural question to ask. "Since he's been back, since he told you about the affair and asked you to forgive him has he slept with anybody else?"

"No he hasn't slept with anybody else…there have been no other women" Lexie stated confidently because that was one thing she could believe in without a doubt.

"Then he's given you no reason to think that you can't trust him since it happened…and doesn't that prove to you that he's trying to earn your trust back" Thatcher pointed out logically.

Rolling here eyes Lexie mumbled the word yes under her breath; she hated it when her father used reason when all she wanted was to be unreasonable.

"Seven months of celibacy isn't gonna a fix our problems" Lexie interjected.

Standing up from her stool Lexie made her way over to the kitchen sink and spilt the cold liquid down the drown. Leaning against the sink she crossed her arms and studied her dad seriously, she didn't understand why he was going to bat for Mark.

"Besides I seriously thought that you'd be last the person to defend him after what Ellis did to you" Lexie commented with a raised eyebrow.

Shaking his head Thatcher smiled sadly at his daughter, "that's exactly why I'm trying to make you see sense".

"I…I just…I don't understand; what do you mean?" Lexie asked in confusion.

"I can't hate Mark for Ellis' mistakes; Ellis's mistakes are her mistakes just like Mark's are his. I mean sure they both slept with other people but there's a difference between the two of them" he noted.

"And that difference being…"

"Mark regrets what he did, you said so yourself" Thatcher declared confidently.

"Then that would imply that Ellis…"

"She didn't" he assured Lexie, "Ellis had no regrets over her affair. She never tried to apologise, or earn my forgiveness…she didn't even care that I knew where she was every night instead of being at home tucking Meredith into bed" he reminisced sadly.

"Dad you don't have to…" Lexie trailed, she knew how hard it was for him to talk about Ellis.

Shaking his head Thatched looked his daughter in the eye, "Mark wants to be forgiven…he wants you to give him a second chance and that's the difference between him and Ellis. He did something stupid and screwed up but he came _back_ and he begged for your forgiveness…and he's still begging for it and by the sounds of things he's not going to let go until you do".

"Then what do you suggest I do" Lexie asked perplexedly, she really didn't know what to do anymore. Everytime Lexie thought she knew how to handle Mark and their breakup something always comes along to change it.

Standing up from his chair Thatcher downed the rest of his coffee and picked up his coat before making his way over to Lexie. Looking down at his daughter Thatcher gently grabbed her by the arms and squeezed them in a comforting gesture.

"You learn to let go" he whispered, "you learn to let go of what he's done because it's the only way you're gonna be able to forgive him. And if you can't let go of it or find it in you to forgive him then you need to let go of_ Mark_. Because running around in circles isn't healthy and it's not fair to either of you, and it's especially not fair to let Mark think that there's hope if there isn't any" Thatcher answered solemnly.

Smiling lovingly at him Lexie wrapped her arms around Thatcher and thanked him because it was exactly what she needed to hear. Lexie needed somebody to sit her down and try and talk some sense in to her, something that neither Meredith nor Arizona had tried doing.

"Thank you daddy" she whispered softly.

"What am I being thanked for?" Thatcher asked as he made his way towards the front door with an arm wrapped around Lexie's shoulders.

"For being my dad and for making sense rather than marching across the street to try and take on a man half your age and double your size" Lexie teased him holding the front door open.

"But seriously thank you" she stated gratefully. "I mean Derek suggested I run across to the other side of the country, Meredith's answer was to get drunk and Arizona was one step shy of building her own voodoo doll but you told me what I needed to hear".

"Anytime sweetheart" Thatcher reassured Lexie as he kissed her on the cheek, "and don't worry mom's the word" he promised with a wink of the eye before leaving.

Smiling fondly at her father Lexie closed the front door, sighing at the sight of the empty apartment she leant against the door as she thought about where her father said.

But she was interrupted by the sound of a knock on the door. Shaking her head with a smile Lexie took a step back so she could open it, "did you forget something dad" she asked.

"Mark" she whispered in surprise as he stood there in the doorway looking nervous and terrified all at the same time.

"I need to talk you" he declared with a voice that wasn't as confident as he'd like it to be.

"Uh come on in" she offered opening the door wider and pointing towards the sofa.

"Really" Mark asked sceptically because he really wasn't expecting that.

Smiling endearingly at him Lexie nodded her head, "yes really" she promised.

Mark wasn't sure what had brought on this sudden change in attitude but he wasn't going to question it, he had come on a mission and he was going to complete it.

"I heard what you said to Michal Breyers" he declared firmly.

"Oh" Lexie whispered sheepishly, running her hands up and down her arms because suddenly she was cold.

"Am I really so bad?" he asked her helplessly, holding his arms out as if to show her that he wasn't hiding anything from her anymore. "I mean am I really so bad that I don't deserve a second chance like Mr. Breyers or did you just say that to him because it's what you though he needed to hear?"

Shaking her head Lexie took a step loser to Mark, "no I didn't just say that to him because it's what I thought he needed to hear" she assured him.

"So then that means that you _do _believe in second chances but I just don't get one" Mark scoffed bitterly.

"No it's doesn't mean that either" Lexie argued as she tried to will the tears away.

Her heart broke seeing Mark stand in front of her, showing her all his fears and his vulnerability. Lexie knew how hard it was for Mark to do that, to show somebody how vulnerable he felt because Mark had always believed that to be a sign of weakness.

"Then what does it mean?" Mark asked helplessly because he couldn't do this anymore. Everytime he thought he was getting through to her Lexie would shoot him down again and Mark couldn't keep chasing after her.

"I…I don't know what it means" she answered honestly in a daze of confusion, but she could hear Thatcher's voice in the back of her head.

"Do you love me?" Mark asked timorously while he could feel his heart beating against his chest faster then it should be, and his palms were sweating as he waited with bated breath for her answer.

"Mark that's not the point…"

"Do you love me?" he repeated the question with a persistent tone in his voice, Mark wasn't going to let her get out of answering his question.

Seeing the pleading look on Mark's face to answer her either way Lexie sighed in defeat, "yes" she stated softly.

Mark didn't know whether to jump up and down for joy or hug her as tightly as possible until she couldn't breathe any longer.

"Mark…"

"I get that you're scared" Mark cut her off before Lexie could talk her way out of it because now that she had he wasn't going to let her backtrack. "You're scared to love me, to trust me, and after what I've put you through nobody would blame you…but I'm scared too, _you _scare me" he declared passionately.

"Me" Lexie whispered disbelievingly as she sat down on the edge of the sofa, she needed a second to wrap her brain around that.

"I've never been scared of someone before, sometimes maybe a little intimidate but never sacred. But you, you scare me with your beautiful brown eyes and your amazing smile. I'm so scared that I'll want to love you for forever and you'll only want me for a few moments in your life" Mark confessed shakily.

Mark couldn't believe that he had just bared his soul like that to another person, let alone Lexie. But after seven months of trying to give her space and time Mark was out of patience.

He had gone there tonight with the purpose of getting an answer out of here one way or the other because he needed to know if there was still a chance for them or if she was just going to end up walking away from him like everyone else had done.

"Mark…" she trailed speechlessly because that was the last thing that Lexie had expected to hear him say. Looking away she swallowed the knot in her throat and tried to keep the tears, hearing Mark say those words seemed to open up the gate and now Lexie didn't know what to think or feel anymore.

Misinterpreting Lexie's silence to mean something different Mark sighed in defeat, as far as he was concerned he had just got his answer. He felt like an idiot for bearing his soul to her only to have Lexie barely even look at him and he felt like he needed to backtrack so that his confession wouldn't make him seem so weak and pathetic.

"Look I didn't come here to tell you that I can't live without you because I can live without you, I just don't want to" he stated restlessly and quietly walked out the door.

Taking a second to pull herself together Lexie wiped her eyes and ran a hand through her air before looking up with every intention to answer Mark. But instead she was met with an empty apartment and a front door left wide open.

Sprawled out across the sofa Lexie looked up at the ceiling as unchecked tears were running down her face. It wasn't the first time in the last seven months that she felt like someone had put her heart through a meat grinder and Lexie was getting tired of feeling like that.

She needed it to change and Lexie knew that the only person who could change that was her. She needed to do something different, she needed to make a decision once and for all and her father's words came filtering back into her mind.

He was right. After seven long and torturous months Lexie knew that the reason she couldn't forgive Mark was because she couldn't let go of what he'd done and it wasn't fair to either of them. She had to make a decision right here, right now, to either let go of the past and focus on her future with Mark or let him go completely.

The idea of seeing him move on; of seeing him with another woman made her sick to her stomach. Lexie loved Mark and she wanted to forgive him, besides she wasn't a spiteful person…she wasn't the type to hold a grudge. And if she could tell Michael Breyers that there was hope for him and his wife then why wasn't Mark entitled to the same thing.

"Hey why's the door open?" Callie asked hesitantly as she made her way into the apartment.

Wiping her puffy red eyes Lexie sat up and looked over at her roommate, "Mark was here" she answered.

"What happened" Callie sighed, she was starting to get fed up with the Mark and Lexie drama they had going on.

"Nothing happened, he tried to talk and I…I just don't know how to" she confessed.

"You know you two have become a soap opera" Callie declared as she sat down beside Lexie, "and not to good kind. You've become the really cheesy soap opera that nobody wants to admit that they watch but they do anyway because they can't bring themselves to pick up the remote and change the damn channel and then…then they lose like a gazillion brain cells just from wasting half an hour of their life watching you and they feel stupider then they already were to begin with" she ranted with a playful smirk.

Shaking her head Lexie laughed humourlessly at her roommate's teasing because Callie wasn't far off. Their love life had become some sad soap opera and once again Lexie knew that the horrible soap opera could come to an end if she just said those three magic words,_ I forgive you._

"Hey I was only kidding" Callie reassured Lexie nudging her in the arm to pull her out of her own thoughts.

"Mark's a good guy" Lexie declared like it needed to be reaffirmed.

"Yeah he is" Callie agreed; "when he stops and thinks to actually use that head of his" she teased but Callie could see that Lexie wasn't in the mood for jokes. "Look I've been holding my tongue and trying to be Switzerland because you're my roommate and he's my best friend…."

"But" Lexie cut in.

"But I think you're both idiots" Callie declared. "I think you both screwed up, you both made mistakes and you both wish you could take it back, especially Mark. And at the risk of loosing not only a roommate but a friend as well I have to say that you can't love somebody on stipulations".

"What does that mean?" Lexie asked her calmly because she really wanted to hear Callie's opinion. Callie was the only one who refused to make a comment on who was right and who was wrong because she didn't want to get in the middle of things, but she knew Mark better then anybody else and Lexie needed to hear what she had to say.

"It means that when you tell someone that you love them you're telling them that you accept their faults, that you realise they're not perfect and sometimes they're gonna screw up but you'll forgive them because it's better then the alternatively" Callie answered.

"But he cheated" Lexie argued in a soft whisper, she cringed at hearing her mouth say those words again.

"Ok yeah he cheated on you but this is Mark and Mark's never really understood that he could be loved faults and all, so when you told him you loved him he got scared. And maybe he was low, he was down and he didn't want you to see him like that, frightened, weak, less than a man. He has his pride so he turned away. It's not right but it doesn't mean he doesn't care about you. I SWEAR it doesn't" Callie tried to assure her.

In that moment something suddenly clicked in the back of Lexie's mind and she knew her answer….right there and right now Lexie Grey knew what she wanted and she knew that she needed to tell Mark.

"Thank you" she hugged Callie tightly before quickly grabbing her coat, purse and keys.

"Hey where are you going?" Callie asked in confusion.

"I need to go talk to a friend" Lexie called out over her shoulder as she walked out the door.

"I thought I was your friend" Callie pouted as she heard the front door close.

* * *

Lexie paced up and down the corridor of the Archfield hotel nervously, every time she found the courage to knock on the door her nerves would get the better of her.

She had spent the last ten minutes pacing up and down, weighing the pros and cons to knocking on that door. In the end it all came down to one thing…regret. Could Lexie honestly spend the rest of her life wondering what might have happened if she hadn't been such a chicken?

Taking a deep breath to steady her nerves Lexie finally bit the bullet and pounded her fist on the door, not even a second later she felt all her resolve slip away as she looked Mark up and down. She could feel her heart beating faster and her hands getting clammy as her eyes kept wondering back to his shirtless body.

"Lexie" he whispered shockingly, she was the last person he'd expected standing in the doorway with a plastic bag full of what looked like to be chinese food.

Biting down on her bottom lip she smiled awkwardly at Mark as Lexie's eye roamed up and down his naked torso, even her photographic memory couldn't live up to the real deal of a shirtless Mark.

As she tried to pull her eyes away her breathing began to slow down as her mind painfully replayed the feeling of Mark's skin against hers over and over again.

Leaning against the door it took everything inside of Mark not to pull Lexie inside the room and have his way with her right then and there. He could tell by the way she was biting her bottom lip and how her breathing slowed down that seeing him without a shirt on drudged up the memory of all the mind blowing sex they'd had.

"Well this is déjà vu" she joked meekly making reference to the first time she had come to his hotel room.

"What do you want Lexie?" Mark asked uncomfortably. He needed to get her out of there before he did something stupid that neither of them would be able to forgive.

"I uh…I um…I brought you chinese" she stuttered after finally pulling her eyes away from his chiselled chest and looked him in the eyes, bad mistake because she had always been a sucker for his blue eyes.

Taking a step into Lexie's personal space Mark looked down at her, his eyes tracing every inch of her face as he tried to stop himself from smiling since he could hear her heart beating a million miles a minute.

Dipping his head Lexie could feel his hot breath brush against her skin and the hairs stood up on the back of her neck, she missed having Mark in her personal space.

Smiling seductively at her Mark's fingers trailed down her arm while inching his mouth closer towards hers as if he was about to kiss her. Lexie instinctively moved her head closer towards him when suddenly Mark moved his lips to her ear, "come on in" he offered before taking the plastic bag off her hands and walking back into the hotel room.

Standing in the doorway dumbfounded Lexie needed a minute to pull herself back together, she had no idea what had just happened but one thing she knew for sure was that it had been far too long since Mark Sloan was in her personal space.

"You didn't really come here to bring me chinese food…" Mark pointed out as he place the bag down on the coffee table and turned around.

The rest of his sentence was cut short as Lexie closed the gap between them quickly, claiming his mouth before he could continue. As the kiss grew more desperate and needy her hands tugged on his face, hoping to pull him closer towards her while her body sprang in response, her mind on fire with need for him.

Mark pulled her body up against his, hugging her against him satisfying both their cravings for the contact as he kissed her back while his hands began a slow slide down her sides, coming to a rest on her hips.

He deepened the kiss, sweeping his tongue across from her lips, seeking entry. With a small sigh of pleasure her mouth parted and her tongue slid across his like silk. In that instant he knew that he couldn't give this up, despite his determination to walk away if she had said no Mark knew he couldn't do it…he couldn't walk away from her.

But he needed to be sure; he needed to know that it was Lexie asking for this, not drunken Lexie or depressed Lexie, but _his _Lexie. And as painful as it would be to stop he would if she was doing this for the wrong reasons because Mark wouldn't be that guy, he loved her too much to take advantage of her.

"Lexie" he protested in between kisses but it seemed to be futile, she was lost to everything but the feeling of Mark's body pressed against hers.

She didn't answer. With her mouth still fused to his Lexie pushed Mark backwards to the edge of the bed,

"Lexie" Mark tried again sitting on the edge of the bed but Lexie shook her head.

She didn't want to talk about it or analyse it over and over again, Lexie just wanted to feel and remember what it was like to be with Mark before they had to deal with the reality of their situation.

"Lexie stop" Mark asked but he knew by the sound of his voice that he didn't sound convincing at all.

"No, no talking" she whispered pleadingly as her warm, soft body brushed against Mark as she straddled him. Her fingers roamed across his chest, tracing over lines and muscles. Leaning forward, she deliberately brushed her breasts against his chest as she kissed him.

He found it difficult to speak. Lexie placed her hand over his heart and looked deep into his eyes. In that instant he knew that he wasn't dreaming this or that he'd be taking advantage of her because Lexie wanted this just as much as he did…maybe even more.

Linking her arms around the back of his neck Lexie pressed her head forehead against his and closed her eyes, "just shut up and kiss me, please" she whispered softly.

Lexie wasn't naïve. She knew that having unbelievable sex wasn't going to make all their problems magically disappear or that it was going to make their conversation afterwards any easier. But neither of them was going anywhere and neither was the dark cloud hanging over their heads, so why rush things.

Taking a deep breath Mark felt his heart skip a beat at the sight of Lexie's soft skin being highlighted by the moonlight seeping through the window into the dark room.

Leaning his forehead against hers he closed his eyes, "Lexie" Mark sighed softly as he moved his fingers to tuck a strand of lose hair behind her ear. But before he could say anything else Mark was cut off by a hot searing kiss.

Deepening the kiss he ran his tongue along her lips, seeking entry as she arched her back, pressing her middle against him.

"Please" she moaned pleadingly as his mouth moved from her lips to her throat, she couldn't even remember his name as one hand slid down her back, pressing her tighter against his stone chest.

Hearing her beg brought something out of him as Mark sent rational thought out of his brain before seizing her mouth in a vicious kiss, he flipped them over, leaving Lexie at his mercy beneath him. All the blood left his brain and he was lost. Lost to everything except for the way she was moving against him, soft sounds coming from the back of her throat and the need to finally claim her.

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_You all know the drill, so please review and I'll try to update as soon as possible._


	16. An Offer of Friendship

**An Offer of Friendship**

Mark woke up suddenly disoriented. He blinked several times, trying to clear his eyes before looking at the clock; it read 4:38am. For a second he laid completely still in bed while he tried to remember what happened exactly; and as the memory of Lexie barging into the hotel room flooded his mind Mark smiled like an idiot.

Stretching his arm out he turned over, expecting to find Lexie but instead he found her side of the bed empty. All she had left behind were cold, rumpled sheets and an empty bottle of water on her nightstand. Mark closed his eyes and turned his back towards her side of the bed, his stomach fell thinking Lexie had changed her mind or regretted it and fled in the middle of the night.

Then Mark heard the bathroom door creak open and realised where she was and the flood of happy relief he felt was embarrassing. But he didn't really care as he watched Lexie tiptoe out of the bathroom with her clothes back on.

Lexie jumped at the sudden bright light shining from the direction of Mark's nightstand. Pressing the palm of her hand against her chest to try and slow down her heart rate Lexie took a deep breath.

"I thought you left" Mark called out from the bed as he watched her every move. It was probably more stalkersque like but he was scared that if looked away for a single second then Lexie would disappear, and it would turn out that last night had just been an incredibly intense dream.

"Well I thought about leaving" Lexie answered sheepishly.

Sitting up Mark nodded his head, "but you stayed" he pointed out with a soft smirk.

"But I stayed" she concurred before making her way over to then end of the bed. Sitting down on the edge of the mattress Lexie tried not to concentrate on the fact that Mark was lying in bed with nothing but a thin sheet covering his naked body.

Part of her still couldn't believe that she had let things go that far but it was hard to be disappointed in herself when she felt more whole in that very second then she had in the last seven months. It was comforting to Lexie waking up with Mark's arms wrapped around her while he was fast asleep, smiling softly at him she couldn't help but watch him in the quietness of the room.

Lexie had missed that. She had missed sharing a bed with him, she missed how neither of them could fall asleep unless his arms were wrapped tightly around her waist…she just missed being there.

But Lexie knew that all the things she missed about Mark weren't going to fix their problems or make this conversation less awkward. But holding on to those things, holding on to all the things she knew were good about Mark and about their relationship was strangely enough helping Lexie to take her father's advice, to let go of what he's done.

"What does this mean?" Mark asked reluctantly because he knew the second he uttered those words the nice bubble they had created last night would burst. But he need answers, he needed to know if this was real or if it was Lexie's way of saying goodbye.

Running her hand through her hair Lexie shook her head, "I don't know what this means" she sighed and stood up.

Climbing out of bed Mark quickly reached for his sweatpants and made his way over to the couch that Lexie was sitting on but instead sat down in front of her on the coffee table.

Leaning forward Mark teasingly ran his hands up and down the sides of her denim clad thighs, "well we don't need to figure it out right away" he hinted with a seductive smirk before kissing her softly on the lips.

Lexie allowed herself to get caught up in the kiss for a total of five seconds before the guilt started to consume her. She knew that she wanted to let go of what Mark had done, she knew that she wanted to try and forgive him and start again but she just didn't know how to. And she didn't know how to explain that to Mark or where to even begin, and she especially didn't want him to think that they could pick up from the way things were before he left.

Pulling away Lexie smiled awkwardly and jumped up from the couch; "I have to go or I'll be late from rounds" she lied because Lexie had the morning off.

With a furrowed brow Mark watched as Lexie whirled around the room in search of her other shoe, she couldn't seem to look him in the eye and suddenly he had that dreaded feeling in the pit of his stomach.

"You know what I take that back, we do need to figure this out _right now_" Mark ordered as he strode over to Lexie and grabbed her by the arms to stop her from moving.

Swallowing the knot in her throat Lexie tried to look away but Mark wouldn't let her and she cursed him in the back of her mind. "What do you want me to say Mark" she whispered ashamedly.

"I want you to tell me what the hell last night was about, I want you to tell me why you stormed into my hotel room and seduced me with your nakedness" he answered with gritted teeth.

Mark knew that it wouldn't do either of them any good for him to get mad right now, not when they were so close to working things out…or at least he hoped they were.

"Oh yeah well, well, you weren't exactly complaining" Lexie threw at him like a two year old.

Letting go of her arms Mark took a step back, "wow that's real mature Lexie" he commented dolefully.

Closing her eyes to try and erase the sad look on Mark's face Lexie threw her arms up helplessly, "I'm sorry".

"Just tell me this, did last night actually mean anything to you or did you just have an itch to scratch so you figured _hey why waste my time trying to pick up a guy at Joe's when I can go straight to Mark, it's not like he's going to say no considering the fact that he's in love with me_" Mark asked sarcastically. The bitterness was quickly beginning to build up as his mind worked double time to convince him that the had gotten his hopes up for nothing, that last night really was just about the sex.

Letting her emotions take over Lexie did the first thing that came to mind and she slapped him, hard. Jumping back she gasped and brought her hands to her lips, Lexie couldn't believe she had just done that. But the fact that he could accuse her of using him for sex, like so many women have done in the past, hurt her…even more then the Addison thing.

Mark could feel the sting of her slap as he turned his head back towards her and saw the shocked and horrified look on her face. Lexie had never been a violent person, hell she didn't even take a swing at him when she found out about Addison so naturally the slap caught them both by surprise.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry" Lexie chanted with her eyes shut tightly and she made a beeline for the door, her hand still throbbing.

"Lexie wait" Mark cried out and beat her to it, blocking the door he stood his ground firmly.

"Mark get out of the way" Lexie ordered meekly but she could see that he wasn't going to budge.

"You hit me" he pointed out with a playful smile, hoping that it would reassure Lexie he wasn't mad at her.

Shaking her head Lexie looked up at the ceiling helplessly, "I didn't mean to do that" she apologised.

"Yes you did" he pointed out. "I said something rude and hurtful and instead of analysing the best way to respond to it fifty million times you let your emotions take over" Mark noted; "and Lexie I deserved it" he added.

Scratching the back of her ear nervously Lexie walked back over to couch and dumped her coat and purse. Leaning against the armrest she closed her eyes and tried to block out her surrounding while she tried to piece her sentence together very carefully.

"I didn't come here last night for a booty call, if I wanted that I would have called Alex" she spat out before her brain could intercept her mouth.

Trying not to cringe at the mention of Alex's name Mark smiled timidly, "well I'm glad you didn't…I mean go to Karev that is".

"Mark I promised you that Alex was a one time deal" she reminded him, "and I didn't mean what I just said about calling Alex".

"Then what did you mean?"

"_You walked out_" she declared, "you told me you were scared that I'd only want you in my life for a few moments and then just walked out" Lexie exclaimed pointing to the door.

"You didn't answer me" Mark argued defensively, walking deeper into the room.

"That's because I'm a girl" Lexie stated like it was the most obvious reason for her lack of a response.

"What does being a girl gotta do with this" Mark asked, throwing his hands up in frustration he collapsed onto the bed.

Leaning against the back of the couch with her arms crossed Lexie watched as Mark laid still, stairing up at the ceiling as he took a deep breath in and a deep breath out.

"Girls are wired differently to boys, we need a second to process the information before we can respond…and had you given me a second then you would've heard what I had to say" Lexie explained.

Stretched out across the bed with his head propped up on his hand Mark looked over at Lexie disbelievingly, "you mean to tell me that you actually had an answer?"

Lexie stood up straight, "see this is our problem…we have major communication problems" she remarked sadly.

"But we can fix it" Mark urged her, immediately sitting up straight when he saw Lexie move to grab her coat and purse. "We can fix our _communication problems _starting right now so tell me, tell me whatever it was you were going to say before I walked out" he encouraged her.

Turning back around to face Mark Lexie shook her head, "there's no point now. What I had to say was in the moment and the moments gone so what I had to say isn't really going to mean much" she noted.

"The moment isn't gone" Mark argued in a panic, "the moment's right here, right now…it will always be the right moment as long as you want it to be".

She knew that she was doing his head with all this back and forth and it wasn't fair to him, it wasn't fair to either of them. _If you can't forgive Mark then you need to let him go…it's especially not fair to let Mark think that there's hope if there isn't any_, Lexie could hear her father's voice saying in the back of her head.

"Okay" Lexie sighed, making her way over to the bed she sat down beside him so closely that their thighs were pressed together. "If you had stuck around I would've told you that I think that I scare you even more then you were willing to admit yesterday and it's more then just the fact that you love me, because I've at least stopped doubting that you love me".

"And what's that?" Mark asked with a shaky voice. Hearing Lexie declare that she believed him when he said I love you brought Mark some comfort and relief.

"I think you're scared that for once, just once, I could be that one girl that will stay by your side, that one girl that will see your flaws and learn to love them, that one that will fight until the very, very end for you" she enlightened Mark with a look of unwavering certainty.

Mark's heart stopped in that moment because he knew that she was right. He knew that it scared him Lexie would learn to love him faults and all because Mark had never had before, and he didn't know what to do with that.

"Addison…" Mark started to say but stoped after Lexie started shaking her head.

"I spoke to my dad yesterday morning" she told him casually like it was no big deal.

"Great so I should probably pack my things and get the hell out of here while I still have my legs in tact" Mark teased with a scared smile.

Giggling softly Lexie unconsciously put her hand on Mark's shoulders, "he isn't gonna try to kill you" she reassured him while rubbing his back in circles.

"Dad's historically do not love me, and by that I mean when I was a teenager dad's did not love me. And until Thatcher that's the last time I had to meet anyone's dad" Mark mentioned with a forced smile.

"Well you can relax because my dad likes you…even after everything that's happened he still thinks you're a good guy" she vowed confidently.

"Do we need to get Derek to check out his brain" Mark asked with a serious face.

He was having a hard time believe that Thatcher would be so forgiving over this because Mark knew that if it was him, if it was _his _daughter then he would have killed the guy by now.

Smiling sincerely at Mark Lexie licked her lips, "my dad told me that making bad choices doesn't make you a bad person…that _you _just made a bad choice" she declared softly.

"That's all well and good but do _you _know that?" Mark asked looking Lexie in the eye cautiously.

Looking him in the eye Lexie nodded her head, "he also told me that I need to learn to let go of what you did if I really want to forgive you. And that if I can't let it go then I need to let _you _go because holding onto the past isn't good for either of us and it's especially not fair to you…"

Grabbing Lexie's hand Mark brought it up to his face and brushed his lips against her knuckles, kissing her hand gently before looking her in the eyes. Mark was terrified because he hated hearing her talk about letting go, especially since it was sounding more and more like a goodbye speech.

"What are you trying to say?" he asked Lexie hesitantly as he took a deep breath, because for the first time in his entire life Mark Sloan felt like crying.

"I'm not the type of person who holds onto grudges and trying to hate you…it just, it just takes too much energy and If I'm going to stop being bitter then I need to forget about Addison, and I need to stop asking myself _why _or if you still love her. I want to forgive you _so _much but in order to do that I need to let go" Lexie explained slowly standing up and letting go of Mark's hand.

As he listened to what Lexie was saying and watched her walk towards the door he could feel his palms getting sweaty and his heart racing. Mark felt like she was slowly slipping away from him and he couldn't stop her no matter how badly he wanted to.

"I need to forget and _we _need to wipe the slate clean because it's the only way this is gonna work" she argued confidently before Lexie walked through the door and closed it behind her.

As the silence of the room took over Mark had never felt more alone in that very second. He didn't know what she meant but he did know that when Lexie walked out that door she took a part of him with her that he was never going to get back.

Collapsing back down on to the bed Mark let out a lonely sigh as he looked up at the ceiling, he had never felt like this before. He felt empty inside, like all the motivation he used to get up out of bed every morning, the motivation he used to pick up a scalpel and operate, and the motivation he used to have an actual human conversation was gone.

All Mark wanted to do was crawl into a hole and wait it out until this feeling went away...until he found his motivation again. But more importantly he wanted this feeling like he couldn't breathe to go away.

With his mind running away from him Mark began to contemplate the idea of going back to New York, to run away to the other side of the country. He figured it would be more bearable to miss Lexie and never have to see her again, then to miss her while torturing himself with the task of having to look at her everyday. He was so serious about it that Mark was even trying to remember the phone number of New York Presbyterian's Chief of Surgery when there was a knock on the door but he ignored it, Mark wasn't in the mood for company.

But who ever it wasn't getting the message as the light tap on the door became unrelenting. "Go away" Mark growled in frustration as he reluctantly dragged himself off the bed, preparing to chew whoever it was and spit them back out.

"What…" he roared yanking the door open but he froze, suddenly forgetting everything he knew about the English vernacular.

Not wanting to smile because she could see how pissed off he was Lexie held her and out with a serious look on her face.

Mark's shock was quickly replaced with confusion and frustration; he had no idea what the hell she was doing and he was getting dizzy trying to figure her out.

"I came to this hotel room, remember? We met and I, um, I said that I respected you as a man, as a surgeon and as a teacher, and we started this thing. I didn't know anything about you. The good, the bad, the dirty mistress…nothing. I didn't know you and I want to know you. I want to start over from the beginning. So, hi, I'm Lexie Grey"

Stunned, Mark looked back and forth between Lexie's outstretched hand and the serious look on her face, trying to figure out if this was some sort of a joke. But all he had to do was look her in the eyes to see that she was dead serious.

"Can you really do this…I mean can you really wipe the slate clean and pretend like the last seven months never happened?" Mark asked sceptically.

"I can do this, I _know_ I can do this" Lexie reassured him confidently as her hand hung in the air like dead weight.

Lexie began to panic when Mark showed no sign of accepting her offer, she didn't know whether to cut and run or stand her ground. But her gut was telling Lexie that if she ran she'd be regretting it for the rest of her life because Mark was her chance…Mark Sloan was her forever guy.

"Mark…please" she begged in embarrassment.

In that split second Mark knew that Lexie was serious about this, that she was determined to let go of the past and concentrate of moving forward _with _him.

Smiling his McSteamy smile Mark tenderly shook her hand, "Hi, I'm Mark Sloan" he introduced himself.

With a euphoric smile Lexie sighed in relief, "very nice to meet you Mark" she spoke softly.

"Nice to meet you to, would you like to come in" he offered because Mark wasn't really sure where he was supposed to be going with this.

Nodding her head Lexie took a step inside the room and before she knew it Mark had the door closed and pinned her up against it, his body pressed up against hers so tightly there wasn't even room for any air between them.

"Mark…" Lexie managed to get out before he faintly brushed his lips up against hers; she felt a surge of desire run through her entire body. "Mark if were gonna wipe the slate clean then that means we start as friends" she explained trying to pretend like he had no affect on her but her body was failing miserably.

"Friends with benefits" Mark suggested seductively then captured her mouth in a hot searing kiss before Lexie could answer. He deepened the kiss, sweeping his tongue across lips, seeking entry.

Completely lost of her willpower she parted her mouth and her tongue slid across his like silk with a small sigh of pleasure. Hypnotised by his kisses Lexie let him have his way until Mark's fingers began to gently caress the side of her neck and moved down towards her collarbone. Snapping back to reality Lexie playfully slapped him across the chest to signal Mark to stop.

Reluctantly Mark's lips pulled away from hers but his fingers stayed put on the hollow of her neck.

"Right now we're _friends_" Lexie emphasised the word, "friends that are purely platonic, friends who might happen to share a drink at Joe's or go out to dinner and if they do then that's fine but no benefits…no sex, friends do not have sex" she pointed out with a voice that was no where as confident as she had hoped.

Leaning forward Mark's lips faintly brushed up against hers once again like he was going to kiss her but without the force behind it and Lexie felt her entire body shudder, that was so much more of a turn on then an actual kiss.

"Friends with benefits" Mark repeated again with a seductive smile before going in for the kill and kissed Lexie gently but passionately on the lips.

"Friends DO NOT kiss friends like that" Lexie argued after pulling away from the kiss all flustered and red in the cheeks.

"Well I do" Mark counter argued before kissing her gently on the mouth one more time before moving his lips to her jaw line.

"And does Meredith know that you kiss Derek like that?" Lexie asked, stretching her head back to encourage him to keep going but she felt his warm lips stop just below her ear lobe.

Tilting his head back Mark scrunched his nose up in disgust, "you did that on purpose" he accused her.

"Well it worked didn't it" she pointed out smugly and took the opportunity to slip away from Mark's little entrapment, feeling a cold chill her body instantly yearned to be pressed up against his body again.

Feeling the subdued laughter bubbling up in him Mark nodded his head in forfeit, "so friends…just friends" he agreed offering his hand to shake on it.

Taking Mark hand's Lexie giggled softly at the look on Mark's face, she had never seen a man before more disgusted by one single word then he was of the word friend…it was like _friend_ had just become his worst enemy.

"Friends" Lexie repeated obligingly.

"How about we seal the deal with a kiss" Mark suggested with an eager smirk and Lexie laughed at him, not the desired effect he was going for. "Not to push my luck or anything…"

"Oh because you haven't so far" Lexie cut in sarcastically with a teasing smile.

"As I was saying; not to push my luck but can I at least ask_ why _you're declaring a moratorium on all activities pertaining to sex?" he asked, "and does that definitely including no kissing at all or were you just trying to make a point a second ago…because if you were then I promise that as long as I can keep kissing you then lesson learnt" he vowed with a cheeky smile.

Shaking her head Lexie smiled at how adorable Mark could be sometimes, especially when there was something that he really wanted.

"I'm not trying to teach you a lesson Mark it's just really important to me that if we're going to be friends then I can't be having sex with you because…" Lexie stalled, her cheeks turning red.

"Because" Mark urged her on while trying not to laugh at the fact that she was blushing.

"Because Cristina and Meredith were right" Lexie squealed painfully, "I don't know how to do casual sex…I need to put all these feelings into it and that just makes things so much more complicated. And if we have sex again then I'm gonna skip over the friends part and go straight to being head over heels in love with you because my heart lives in my vagina" she declared completely mortified. Lexie still couldn't believe that she had said that in front of Mark and Derek, Derek couldn't even look at her for more then a week afterwards.

Smiling amusingly at her Mark was impressed that she actually had the guts to bring that up again. "Well I guess I can live with that" he conceded, wrapping his arms around her waist he pulled Lexie closer. "As long as I'm the only one who gets to go there" he whispered softly into her ear with a playful smirk.

Rolling her eyes at his comment Lexie felt her body shudder, though she wasn't sure if it was because of the comment or because of the fact that his body was pressed up against hers.

Slinging an arm around his neck Lexie placed her hand over his heart and looked deep into Mark's eyes, "that would have to be one of the most tactless comments you've ever made…"

"But" Mark asked with a smile because he could hear it coming.

"But it was also pretty sweet…maybe even hot" she whispered seductively as her hand ghosted over his lips, when suddenly she pulled herself up his body and wrapped her legs around his hips, her hands sliding up around his neck as she kissed his lips.

When Mark pulled his lips gently from hers she leaned in to reclaim them but he tilted his head back and made eye contact. "What happened to friends not having sex?" he asked curiously with a smug smile.

"Okay so then I declare that the friends rule does not come into effect until we leave this room" Lexie announced before capturing his lips in a hot searing kiss and signalled towards the bed.

**************

_You all know the drill, so please review and I'll try to update as soon as possible._


	17. I Don't Kiss and Tell

Here Comes the Flood

**AN: **_Okay so I'm not sure if anyone's even interested in this story anymore; but after writing the last chapter to Heartlines and reading so many au fics to the finale I felt like I needed to write something that wasn't so gloomy._

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_**I Don't Kiss and Tell**_

Leaning against the nurses' desk Mark smiled at her knowingly, his eyes roaming up and down the length of her body while his mind replayed their morning together over and over again. "Good afternoon Dr. Grey" he greeted her with a seductive grin, she'd been trying to ignore him all afternoon but Mark was determined to remind her it wasn't going to be that easy.

"Good afternoon Dr. Sloan" Lexie responded shifting on her feet uncomfortably, she hated it when Mark insisted on watching her so intensely.

Failing to hold back a smirk Mark leaned in towards her, "so how was your morning off Dr. Grey?" he asked teasingly.

"Stop it" she ordered bluntly, trying desperately hard to focus on a patient's chart…but it was pointless, she'd been stuck on the same line since he showed up.

Twiddling his thumbs he tried to give Lexie his best _I'm completely innocent_ look, but Mark knew it wasn't working because somehow…and he still hadn't really figured it out yet, she knew how he operated better then anyone else sometimes and that honestly scared the crap out of him.

"Stop what?"

Looking around to make sure that no one would over hear them Lexie pointed at finger at Mark, "stop picturing me naked" she hissed. The longer he kept looking at her like that the harder it got for Lexie to stick to her promise, to keep the sex out of their _friendship_.

"I can't help it" Mark whined defensively. "It's your fault for violating me with your nakedness" he whispered seductively into her ear.

"Friends don't think about their friends naked" Lexie ordered, fighting off the butterflies in the pit of her stomach at the mere sight of his smile. This wasn't the agreement they had made…they were supposed to be friends, two _casual _friends and Mark's seductive grin and knowing looks weren't helping.

"Mmhh let me think about that one" Mark said tapping his chin as if he was actually giving it some serious thought; "nope sorry, I'm afraid that can't be done," he concluded.

Shaking her head Lexie gave Mark a playful glare, ready to talk him into submission when she was suddenly interrupted by the sound of Arizona's voice. "Hey where were you last night?" she asked with a perky smile, completely ignoring Mark like he wasn't even there.

"Ah…wh…what" Lexie stammered, fidgeting nervously with her pen while she tried to avoid looking at both Mark and Arizona.

"Well Callie was called back to the hospital and you never came home so I ended up alone in the apartment last night" Arizona explained, giving Mark a quick once over after he smiled genuinely at the Peads surgeon and waved at her.

"Oh I um…I crashed at a friend's place last night" Lexie lied…well sort of lied; she knew that Mark was expecting her to admit the truth but she wasn't ready for that yet. Lexie could already hear the list of reasons Arizona would come up with on whyspending the night, and practically the whole morning, with her ex-boyfriend was a _bad_ idea.

"Well I'll see you tonight then, Callie's working the night shift so I thought I'd cook dinner" Arizona answered cheerfully, not even thinking twice about Lexie's answer.

"Uh that sounds great" Lexie stammered, purposefully ignoring the dejected look that she knew would be written across Mark's face. "I should be home by about eight but I gotta stop off at mom and dad's first".

"Well I better go, got a preemie baby waiting in pre-op for his surgery" Arizona declared and took off, refusing to even wave goodbye to Mark.

Bracing herself for his reaction Lexie turned to face Mark and tried to muster up a smile of apology, hoping that he'd understand why she had refused to admit what happened last night. She moved to speak when out of the corner of her eye she noticed one of the chatty nurses watching their every move, Lexie sighed in frustration because somehow it had happened…they had officially become the new Meredith and Derek.

Subtly, and almost unnoticeably, Lexie pointed her head towards the said nurse. Secretly trying to signal to Mark that they'd talk later, "is there anything else I can help with you Dr. Sloan?" she asked.

Throwing Lexie another glance his muscles tightened, involuntarily flexing his fingers to try and loosen some of the stress coursing through his body. The day had started off fine, maybe even perfect, and all it took was one simple question from Arizona Robbins to ruin it for him. Mark knew that he had no right to be mad at Lexie, or even hurt that she'd lied to Arizona like that, but that gnawing feeling in his gut told him that this wasn't going to be as easy as he thought. Shaking his head Mark grabbed his pile of charts, "no, I think you made yourself loud and clear" he said curtly before darting off in search of Derek.

"Dr. Sloan I didn't mean…" Lexie called out to his retreating form, the hurt look on his face making it loud and clear that he didn't want to talk to her anymore. Slumped over the nurses' station Lexie groaned and slapped her forehead with the palm of her hand, repeatedly mumbling to herself what an idiot she was.

* * *

Standing in front of the closed doors Mark jabbed at the elevator button incessantly with much more force than was necessary…or probably healthy; cursing loudly under his breath when the damn thing wouldn't open fast enough. "Seriously what is wrong with you" Mark growled kicking the door; his impatience was getting the better of him and people were beginning to notice.

After what seemed like forever to Mark, the elevator doors finally opened to reveal his best friend leaning back against the wall; but oblivious to Derek's preoccupation with the black velvet box in his hand Mark stepped inside and sighed in relief as the doors closed.

"Lexie isn't telling Arizona about us" Mark declared bluntly in frustration as though Derek was completely up to date with everything that'd happened the previous night, "she tells Arizona everything".

"Mmhh that's nice" Derek mumbled vaguely in agreement because he wasn't really paying attention, his eyes were still glued to the opened jewellery box.

"_Nice_, you think that it's _nice_" Mark growled looking Derek up and down, trying to figure out what was wrong with his best friend when finally his eyes caught sight of the little black box. "What is that?" he asked in exasperation, Mark knew that if he was going to get Derek's advice then he needed to handle the latest problem in the Meredith and Derek saga first.

Snapping the box shut Derek finally looked across at Mark and tossed it to him, "what do you think it is?" he asked smugly.

After he caught the box Mark opened it up and whistled. He'd seen that ring before; it was grandma Shepherd's wedding ring…the very same ring Derek had refused to give to Addison.

"Think you can try and not lose it this time" Derek asked with a teasing smirk, they didn't need a repeat of what happened the first time around. Although he refused to admit that Mark had been right all those years ago when he told Derek that eventually they'd be laughing about it.

"You know if you think about it maybe it was fate's way of trying to tell us that you were making a mistake" Mark suggested, smirking as he recalled the murderous look on Derek's face when he told the groom he couldn't find Addison's wedding ring an hour before the ceremony.

Not saying anything Derek simply gave Mark a _you really want to go there_ look and shook his head, "just put it in your sock draw and don't even _think _about touching it until the wedding…as best man it's the _only _thing you have to do".

"Well I'm sure grandma Shepherd definitely would have approved the second time around" Mark commented nodding his head in approval, "and relax I'll keep it under lock and key until the big day".

Rolling his eyes in disbelief Derek crossed his arms and finally offered Mark his full attention, "now what were you going on about?"

"I said that Lexie isn't telling Arizona about us" Mark sighed sadly as he placed the ring in his coat pocket. He understood that Lexie wanted to start from scratch, to be just friends, but she wouldn't even acknowledge that to Arizona; so Mark had to wonder how serious Lexie really was about this…about _them_.

"I thought things were over between you two?" Derek questioned with a furrowed brow, trying to recall if he'd missed something in their recent string of conversations about he and Lexie getting back together.

Looking down at the floor Mark scratched the back of his neck, "we're friends" he answered hesitantly as he debated whether to mention last night.

"_Friends_" Derek repeated the word sceptically because he knew Mark and _Mark Sloan _did not know how to be friends with a girl…let alone a girl he was in love with.

"Yeah friends…friends who had sex last night," Mark mumbled under his breath, he wasn't even sure if Derek had heard him.

Trying really hard not to smile Derek shook his head, not in the least bit surprised. "So let me get this straight, you slept with my soon to be sister last night…"

"And this morning" Mark added sheepishly. "She came to my hotel room last night to talk and the next thing I know we're naked in bed… "

"Because getting _you_ in to bed is so hard to begin with" Derek teased jokingly, sometimes Mark just made it too easy.

"Ha, ha, mock me if you like" Mark laughed sarcastically, he could feel his frustration starting to get the best of him…and Derek was right in the firing line. "I guess it was stupid of me to think that for once maybe _I _could get a bit of support from my best friend. You know considering I've had to put up with the chronicles of the Meredith and Derek saga" he snapped, storming out of the elevator as the doors opened in perfect timing.

"Mark" Derek yelled chasing after him but Mark kept walking, both ignoring all the attention they were attracting. "Mark will you wait a minute" he exclaimed, grabbing him by the arm Derek pulled Mark into the Attending's lounge he had just passed.

"Just forget it" Mark growled in frustration. Wrenching his arm free he stormed over to the counter to pour himself a cup of coffee, he moved to put the pot back on the burner when Derek quickly stole the steaming cup out of his hand with a cheeky smile. Sighing in exasperation Mark shot Derek a glaring look before pouring himself another cup, "you can be such an ass you know that" he remarked turning around to see his best friend sitting comfortably on the couch.

"Okay let's start from the beginning" Derek suggested, dismissing Mark's comment with an annoyingly cheerful smile and a sip of his coffee. "So you said that Lexie isn't telling Arizona…"

"That we had sex last night" Mark growled; sloshing coffee down the side of his mug and onto his hand after being startled by the sound of somebody, _besides_ Derek, coughing awkwardly to get their attention. "Doesn't anybody work around here?" he exploded at Dr. Nelson who had been huddled in the corner with his newspaper, the last thing he needed was for everyone else in the hospital to know about his business.

Looking over his shoulder Derek smiled apologetically at the man, "perhaps it would be best if you…" he suggested pointing his head back towards the door. The man didn't need to be told twice, stumbling to his feet Dr. Nelson quickly gathered his things and ran out of the room as fast as he could. "So" he said after propping his feet up onto the coffee table, "I'm guessing this isn't just about the sex then?"

"It's not just that she spent the night in my bed or that we had mind blowingly fantastic sex" Mark sighed sitting down next Derek. "It's the fact that she lied to Robbins about us trying to be _friends_" he said, the word leaving a bitter taste in his mouth. "She's my problem!" he exclaimed in exasperation, "she's not ready…do you think she's ready?"

Derek couldn't help but laugh at the irony because it was nearly two years ago they'd had a similar conversation…Mark had insisted on teasing him mercilessly for being just 'friends' with Meredith, and now the shoe was on the other foot; "karma's a bitch" he laughed.

"You know McDreamy is being a McAss right now" Mark grumbled in disbelief at his cackling friend.

"Uh-huh" Derek nodded in agreement, the sound of his laughter dying down slowly, "but you've got to admit that it's pretty funny. You've spent your whole adult life happily beating back an army of women who wanted to marry you and settle down, and now you're one of those women" he pointed out ironically. "You're pining over a girl you want…a girl you _had, _but now she just wants to be friends and you can't handle the shoe being on the other foot"

"Are you finished?"

Sobering up swiftly Derek patted Mark on the shoulder, "I'm sorry" he apologised calling a truce on the ribbing and gibing. "I really dunno if you two can be just friends after everything that's happened. But more importantly, if you don't know you shouldn't do anything until you do know" he advised him; using Mark's own advice on him when Derek was debating over his proposal to Meredith.

"Don't go all Dr. Wyatt on me Derek, cuz I'm not in the mood" Mark warned, trying to avoid meeting Derek's stare that he could feel burn a hole into him.

"You think she's gonna wanna get back together," Derek declared as he was suddenly hit with the realisation of what Mark really wanted. "You think she's gonna forgive you, and move on, and want a relationship," he concluded twisting Mark's own words on him.

"I do not," he tried to deny; taking a sip of his coffee in an attempt to hide a faint smile he was struggling to hold back.

"You are such a bad liar" Derek smirked shaking his head disbelievingly.

"She said she wants to move on" Mark whined childishly; "she said that she wants to try and forget about Addison and concentrate on moving forward…

"As friends and friends don't have mind blowing sex with friends" Derek interrupted. "Friends hang out, friends grab a drink after work, they watch a game…they talk about their problems, but what they do _not _do is have sex with each other. Because then the sex becomes dirty; it's dirty, tainted, sex that you're both using to try and cover up the real problems in the relationship".

"But it's so good" Mark whined with a puppy dog look, "and she's so good…"

"Do you want her back for the sex or because you love her" Derek snapped, getting frustrated with Mark because the man clearly wasn't listening to what he was trying to say. "Because if it's the latter option, which I'm hoping to god it is, then you need to back off and do exactly as she says".

Pinching the bridge of his nose to try and stop the headache he could feel coming on Mark shook his head. "So your solution is to do nothing and go with the flow…to pretend like last night never happened, to treat her like she's just a _friend_?" he asked sceptically.

"If that's what she wants then yes," said Derek with a proud smile because sometimes he forgot what a quick learner Mark could be when he really wanted something bad enough. "You pretend like you've never seen her naked, and that she wasn't in your bed last night because she's a Grey. And if I've learnt one thing from big Grey it's that you can't push" Derek advised him.

"But what about what I want…I'm not gonna wait around to be happy anymore" Mark sighed thinking about how his one stupid decision to go to L.A. screwed everything up, destroyed the first real relationship he'd ever been committed to.

Shaking his head Derek smiled in amusement, "see this is what you do, ever since we were little kids. You skip steps," he declared as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "You've always tried to jump from point A to point E while trying to avoid all the hard stuff in between".

Hunched forward, with his elbows on his knees, Mark put down his coffee cup with a serious look on his face. "I skip steps" he mumbled as though the idea had never occurred to him, like he'd never considered that his self-destructive behaviour had something to do with skipping a bunch of steps. "So then what am I supposed to do next?" he asked looking across to Derek, "what's my next move?"

Derek opened his mouth to answer but was interrupted by the sound of his own pager going off, cursing under his breath when he saw it was a 911 from Richard. "You go back a bunch of steps and start from the beginning," he answered putting his own cup down and quickly standing. "Start off simple and take your time because sometimes the thrill of anticipation, of finding out new things, is so much better then the sex" he asserted, patting Mark on the shoulder confidently then ran out of the door.

Shrugging his shoulders Mark looked around the empty room and nodded his head; "simple…I can do that, I can start with simple" he murmured, wondering if it had come out sounding a lot more confident then he felt. But something spurred him on; whether it was Derek's parting words, or simply his impatience, Mark hastily stood back up and raced out of the room. Jogging up and down the corridors of the Seattle Grace like a lost puppy he looked everywhere he could think of. He had looked in the E.R., searched every on-call room he knew she preferred sleeping in, the residents lounge…he even ran out into the ambulance bay hoping she was out there waiting for an emergency, but he couldn't find her and no one else seemed to know where she was either.

Scrubbing his hands over his face Mark growled; he didn't understand why it was so difficult to find one tiny slip of a woman, and it didn't help that she wasn't answering her page. Finally Mark decided to try one last place, and if she wasn't there then he'd resolved himself to camping out by her front door until Lexie finally came home. So after taking one more puff of air Mark sprinted off to his right, completely ignorant to the woman he'd nearly run down until she yelped out in surprise. He instinctively grabbed her by the arms to steady them both, filled with a mix of relief and frustration, when he realised that said woman was in fact Lexie.

Letting go of her arms Mark took a step back and shook his head in disbelief, "this is a big hospital and you are one tiny woman" he panted dropping his head between his shoulders.

"Have you been running?" Lexie asked suspiciously with an arched eyebrow, wondering what had brought on Mark's sudden mood swing

"I was looking for you," he rumbled with his hands on his hips, trying to steady his breathing to a healthier rate.

"Why?"

"Because I wanted to apologise, I shouldn't have…"

"Mark really it's fine, you don't have to apologise" Lexie quickly cut him off, refusing to admit that she'd spent the last hour trying to look for him. As hard as she'd tried to let it go Lexie couldn't concentrate on her work after ending their conversation the way it had. She needed to try and explain to Mark that what happened with Arizona had nothing to do with him and everything to do with her.

"Well then I was wondering if maybe…" Mark trailed; he could feel his heart pounding in his chest as the nerves got the best of him. He wondered for a second if was too late to back out now instead of facing the possibility of rejection, but looking into her big brown eyes Mark realised it was now or never. "What I was trying to say, or actually more like ask, is whether you'd be interested in having dinner with me tonight at Camparo's because you know we never really, uh we've never really done that before?" he asked all doe eyed.

"Mark…"

"Or not" he quickly cut her off before Lexie had a chance to say no. "It's probably a really dumb idea because _friends _don't do that sort of thing right…I mean they eat, of course they eat food. They just don't do it at fancy French restaurants, with candlelight dinner and a $300 bottle of wine" he stuttered, backpedalling helplessly to try and laugh it off.

To say Lexie was shocked would have been an understatement, of all the things Mark could have said asking her out to dinner was what she'd least expected. "I, um, I…"

"You know what just forget I even said anything, I was an idiot for even suggesting it" he waved it off and turned on his heels. Making a mental note to kick Derek's ass _hard _for even suggesting 'simple', because for Mark simple wasn't easy…simple meant regressing back to his 15 year old self who had absolutely no clue how to talk a woman.

Lexie shook her head; quickly recovering from the momentary shock she had just enough time to grab him by the arm before Mark could make a quick getaway for the second time today. "But friends have been known to watch a football game here or there on the odd occasion" she proposed instead, trying really hard to stifle a giggle at the look of confusion written across his face.

Scratching the back of his neck Mark shook his head. "Uh what now?" he asked, pretty certain that his desperation meant he was starting to become delusional…making things up in his head.

Letting out a big sigh Lexie started to pace up and down while biting her fingernails nervously. She hadn't planned on asking him to the game, in fact Lexie had planned on giving them to Derek but the more she thought about it the more it seemed like a good idea…a good icebreaker to wiping the slate clean.

"My dad won Seattle Seahawks tickets for this Saturday in the monthly poker game he plays with his buddies" Lexie started explaining, "and well…he's really not that much of a football fan so he gave me the tickets…"

"But you hate football" Mark pointed out; ignoring the fact that she was surprised he even remembered a small detail like that.

"Yeah well I…I thought that maybe you could teach me" said Lexie stuttering nervously, "you know we could go together, as friends, and you could teach me…of course that's, that's if you're interested that is" she rambled on.

Mark unconsciously licked his lips, trying hard to fight off the incredibly inappropriate thoughts that were running through his head about said certain friend. "Together?" he asked, quickly shaking it off once he realised he had failed to actually give her an answer

"Well yeah. That was kind of the idea but if you'd rather go with Derek I completely understand…in fact you should probably go with him, I'm sure you'd have a better time" Lexie answered hoping that her response didn't sound as disappointed out loud as it did in her head.

"Well no offence to Derek but I think I'd rather enjoy spending my free time teaching you a thing or two" Mark mused suggestively, making sure he didn't actually touch her skin while he reached out tentatively to brush a loose stand of hair back from her face. He couldn't help but smirk when he saw her eyes go wide and her cheeks blush as she chewed on her bottom lip.

Lexie, on the other hand, wasn't sure whether she wanted to kill him or kiss him as the feel of his hot breath on her face sent a shiver down her spine, flooding her mind with memories of their last encounter. "Well then…"she faltered trying to clear her throat, "it's settled. You and me, Saturday night" said Lexie trying to make it sound as platonic as possible but knew she'd failed after seeing the smug smile on his face.

Shaking her head in disbelief Lexie turned and quickly walked away before one of them said or did something else, but she could feel him watching her every move. Looking back over her shoulder Lexie pointed a finger at him, "and stop checking out my ass" she ordered in a pathetic attempt at sounding certain.

As he watched her round the corner Mark turned in the opposite direction with a cheeky grin plastered across his face, deciding that maybe there was the likelihood that this 'friends' thing wouldn't be so bad after all.

* * *

_So like I said I'm not sure if anyone's still interested in this story but if you are please hit the review button and let me know. _


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